China presses Iran, US to reopen Hormuz as disruptions threaten oil supply

China urged Iran and the US to return to diplomacy and for both parties to reopen the Strait of Hormuz during talks between the countries’ foreign ministers in Beijing on Wednesday as disruptions to regional energy routes threaten China’s oil supplies.

What happened: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Beijing Wednesday morning and met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi later in the day, according to Iran’s state news agency IRNA, which reported that the two foreign ministers discussed “bilateral, regional, and international issues.”

This visit is Araghchi’s second to China since the war began and his third meeting with Wang Yi during that period. The two foreign ministers previously met in person in Beijing in May and on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization foreign ministers’ meeting in Kyrgyzstan in July.

According to Chinese state-run outlet Xinhua, Wang told Araghchi, “China encourages Iran and the United States to stay rational and exercise restraint, return to the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding at an early date.” He also called on all parties to take measures to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.