China Urges US and Iran to Resume Negotiations

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi hosted Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Beijing on September 16, 2026, to mediate the ongoing conflict between Iran and the United States. The talks focused on urging both nations to remain rational and return to the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding reached in June to rebuild negotiation mechanisms.

A primary objective of the diplomacy is the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, where commercial traffic has plummeted from 125 vessels per day to just four. This disruption threatens 20% of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas supplies. Araghchi stated that Iran is not interested in prolonging the war and has reached arrangements with Oman to reopen the waterway, though he maintained that foreign forces have no place in the new regional order.

The meeting follows a cycle of violence that began February 28, when the United States and Israel launched large-scale strikes against Iranian targets, prompting retaliatory Iranian missile and drone attacks. Wang Yi characterized the U.S. war against Iran as illegal and warned against tensions spilling over into Yemen and the Red Sea.

These discussions precede a scheduled summit in Washington next week between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump. The summit is expected to address the conflict, trade, and artificial intelligence, as well as the financial links between China and Tehran. Beijing has simultaneously denied allegations that Chinese entities provided Iran with satellite imagery of a U.S. military base in Jordan prior to a strike that killed three American soldiers.