Iran's Araghchi briefs China ahead of Xi-Trump meeting in Washington

By Al Jazeera English

Community Score: 50% | 25.9K views | 4w

0 community ratings: null thumbs up, null thumbs down

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has arrived in Beijing for talks with his Chinese counterpart, as Tehran faces growing military and economic pressure from the United States and sanctions from the UN. The visit comes a week before Chinese President Xi Jinping is due to meet US President Donald Trump in Washington, and is Araghchi's second trip to Beijing since the US-Israel war on Iran began in February. China is Iran's largest economic and trade partner and buys about 90 per cent of Iran's oil exports, while also maintaining strong relations with Saudi Arabia and other regional powers. Beijing is calling for restraint, a return to dialogue and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, as the conflict continues to threaten shipping and trade across the region. China has also been hosting a 13-member Taliban delegation at the Xiangshan Defense Forum, despite not formally recognising the Taliban government, reflecting Beijing's policy of engaging with a wide range of countries. Tehra

Tags: Abbas Araghchi China, Afghanistan Taliban China, China Afghanistan ties, China Iran oil trade, China Iran trade, China US relations, Gulf security, Hormuz crisis, Iran China, Iran China relations, Iran China talks, Iran nuclear programme, Iran oil exports to China, Iran sanctions, Strait of Hormuz, Taliban delegation China, US Iran war, Xi Jinping Donald Trump, Xiangshan Defense Forum, al Jazeera