Iran’s Araghchi holds talks with China’s Wang Yi in Beijing

Iran’s foreign minister meets his Chinese counterpart one week before President Donald Trump’s visit to Beijing.Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is holding talks with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, in Beijing amid tensions with the United States in the Strait of Hormuz.Araghchi’s one-day visit on Wednesday comes a week before US President Donald Trump’s scheduled ⁠visit to Beijing for a summit with President Xi Jinping on May 14 and 15.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Trump halts Hormuz operation, cites ‘great progress’ in Iran talkslist 2 of 4US Army says ‘Project Freedom’ in blockaded Hormuz has ‘just begun’list 3 of 4US plans to hike tariffs on EU cars to 25% will hit luxury market the mostlist 4 of 4US push for Lebanon and Israel leaders to meet could inflame tensionsend of listChina’s official Xinhua news agency reported the meeting between Araghchi and Wang had begun, without providing further details.Araghchi’s visit to Beijing marks his first visit to China – a close ally of Tehran – since the Iran" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="38342" data-entity-type="event">US-Israeli war on Iran began on February 28. Araghchi had spoken with Wang by telephone at least three times following the break out of hostilities.Earlier in Washington, DC, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed hope that Beijing would reiterate to Tehran the need to release its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz.Iran effectively closed the strait – through which major oil and gas supplies passes – after the war began, pushing prices of fuel and fertiliser sharply higher and rattling the global economy.Following a ceasefire in April, the US imposed its own blockade on Iranian ports in a bid to compel Tehran to agree to Washington’s terms in peace talks.Al Jazeera’s Katrina Yu, reporting from Beijing, said two issues are expected to dominate the agenda in Araghchi and Wang’s meeting – maintaining the ceasefire and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.“We know that China has been very critical of the US’s naval blockade on Iranian ports, calling it dangerous. But increasingly, Beijing has also been critical of Iran’s decision to continually close that vital chokepoint,” Yu said.Wang is expected to speak to Araghchi about what kind of support China can continue to offer Iran if it continues to close the strait.