As China continues to buy Iranian oil, the US has put more and more sanctions on Chinese companies to try to break up Iran’s last few commercial ties.
The Chinese government has invited Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi to visit Beijing on Wednesday. This comes at a time when the peace between Iran and the US is very weak and on the verge of breaking down. On May 14 and 15, US President Donald Trump will go to Beijing. This visit is just a few days before that.
During his trip, Araghchi will meet with Wang Yi, his Chinese counterpart
On May 6, Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi will visit China at China’s invitation. There will be talks between him and Wang Yi, who is a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and the minister of foreign affairs, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
Three Indians were hurt in Fujairah on Monday when Iran attacked the UAE. This is when Beijing made its statement. The attack happened after the US’s “Project Freedom” to use guided missile warships to clear the Strait of Hormuz and make it easier for commercial ships to pass through the world’s busiest canal. On Monday, two ships with American flags, one of which was owned by the Danish shipping giant Maersk, went through the Strait smoothly.
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Many countries have helped Iran, and China is one of them
In the face of US sanctions, Beijing has kept buying oil from Iran. Ishaq Dar, who is the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Pakistan, went to Beijing earlier in April as Islamabad stepped up its efforts to help Iran and the US end their war.
A few days later, on April 8, the two countries called a truce, which is still in place today, even though there was military action on Monday. On Monday, Trump said he had destroyed seven Iranian speed boats. Washington is still looking for ways to open up the Strait.
Since a fifth of the world’s oil sources go through the Strait, the shutdown of the chokepoint has caused chaos in the energy markets around the world. Several news outlets say that China helped get Iran to agree to the peace deal.
The New York Times says that Beijing is said to have told Tehran to be open in order to ease relations with Washington.
While the US drops its military blockade, Iran has said that direct talks for a peaceful solution will not happen again. The US and Iran tried to make a deal when they met in Islamabad on April 11. But the talks failed to reach a key agreement that would have led to an end to the war peacefully.
China has been an important partner for Iran for many years, both economically and politically. China’s moves have helped Iran get through the international sanctions system and given Tehran a way to stay alive by buying oil.
In a strong message to Beijing on Monday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent asked them to “step up” and use diplomacy to get Tehran to open up the Strait of Hormuz. Bessent said that China’s sales of Iranian oil showed that Beijing was giving money to the biggest state supporter of terrorists in the world.
“Iran is the biggest state sponsor of terrorism, and China buys 90% of their energy. This means that China is funding the biggest state sponsor of terrorism,” Telling Fox News, an American TV station, what he thought.
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Bessent has been in charge of the US’s economic war against Iran
In the last couple of weeks, he has announced a number of sanctions that are meant to make it harder for Tehran to connect to the global economy.
The US and China have also had less trouble with each other in the last year. In 2017, Trump met with Xi Jinping, the president of China, in the city of Busan in South Korea. Before the current conflict between the US and Iran on February 28, the US President was supposed to go to China earlier this year. However, the trip was pushed back to May 14 and 15.
But at the end of April, the US put restrictions on Chinese factories that bought oil from Iran. Beijing quickly stepped in to protect its businesses and told them to keep ignoring US sanctions.
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