China’s calls to open Hormuz show the limits of its ties to Iran, experts say

While China has begun to put pressure on Iran to end its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, its statements have been carefully worded, experts say, showing how the prolonged conflict is testing Beijing’s relationship with Tehran.President Xi Jinping told Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman last week that China wanted an “immediate and comprehensive ceasefire” and explicitly demanded that the waterway “ remain open to normal passage”, without naming Iran or the US.Speaking at the United Nations earlier this month, Chinese ambassador Fu Cong was more explicit. While condemning the US and Israeli strikes on Iran as violations of the UN Charter, he pointedly declared that “China does not go along with Iran’s attacks on Gulf states and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.”