Chinese President Xi Jinping told US President Donald Trump that Beijing supports restoring a June agreement to end the Iran war. The deal also sought to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial route for global energy shipments.
Xi raised the issue during their White House meeting on Thursday, September 24, according to China’s state news agency Xinhua.
He backed a return to the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, which Pakistan and Qatar helped mediate in June. His remarks renewed Beijing’s push for negotiations as diplomatic efforts continued alongside severe disruption to Gulf shipping.
China urges comprehensive US-Iran agreement
Xi urged Washington and Tehran to resolve their differences through talks as soon as possible, Xinhua reported.
He said China favoured respect for every country’s sovereignty and security. Beijing had worked to reduce tensions and encouraged the parties to maintain negotiations, he added.
The Chinese president also called for a comprehensive settlement covering the nuclear issue and other outstanding disputes.
Xinhua’s account outlined China’s position but did not announce a renewed US-Iran agreement or a timetable for implementing one.
The appeal followed Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s September 16 meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Beijing.
Wang urged both sides to exercise restraint and rebuild negotiations around their existing understandings. He also pressed for safe shipping and warned against further conflict spreading into Yemen and the Red Sea.
Islamabad agreement returns to focus
The June memorandum aimed to halt the war and restore passage through Hormuz while allowing further negotiations.
However, the understanding failed to produce a lasting settlement. During his Beijing visit, Araghchi accused Washington of violating it less than three weeks after signing.
Iran has continued to signal conditional support for diplomacy. A senior Iranian official told Reuters on September 22 that Tehran could reopen Hormuz within seven days.
That would require Washington to ease military pressure and lift its blockade of Iranian ports, the official said.
Tehran submitted its proposal through mediators on September 16. Its delegation at the UN General Assembly had authority to pursue renewed diplomacy.
“The UN General Assembly is a golden opportunity for the US to return to diplomacy”, the official told Reuters.
Hormuz shipping remains sharply reduced
Fresh shipping figures underline the disruption facing energy markets as leaders discuss restoring the agreement.
Preliminary tracking data showed nine vessel transits through Hormuz on Thursday, down from 14 a day earlier, Reuters reported.
Eight ships exited the waterway, while one entered. The latest count also fell below the 10-day average of 18 transits.
Before the war began on February 28, approximately 125 large commercial vessels used the strait daily. The route carried roughly one-fifth of global daily crude oil and liquefied natural gas supplies.
The tracking figures may exclude ships operating with their transponders switched off.
China, a major buyer of Iranian oil, has repeatedly called for normal navigation. Xi’s intervention placed that demand alongside Beijing’s support for a negotiated peace.
