Chinese President Xi Jinping, pictured on September 1, 2025 with Wang Yi, his foreign minister, at a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, PHOTO: Sergei Bobylev / Zuma Press / Profimedia Images
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi conveyed to his Israeli counterpart Gideon Saar on Tuesday that China opposes the military attacks launched by Israel and the United States against Iran and calls for an immediate end to hostilities, according to the ministry in Beijing, cited by Reuters.
“Force cannot really solve problems; on the contrary, it often creates new ones and leaves serious long-term consequences. The true value of military power is not on the battlefield, but in preventing war,” Wang told Saar in a phone call announced in a press release released by China's foreign ministry.
The blasts rocked Tehran and Beirut on Tuesday and financial markets around the world fell amid the prospect of a prolonged disruption to global oil and gas supplies following retaliatory strikes by Iran in response to strikes by Israel and the US that killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and beheaded the country's leadership.
Wang told Saar that China believes in solving international and regional issues through dialogue and negotiations, and that Beijing will continue to play a constructive role in improving the situation in the Middle East.
Tuesday's call came after three more talks the Chinese foreign minister held on Monday with the foreign ministers of Iran, France and Oman, in which he urged the Gulf countries to unite to oppose “foreign interference”.
Wang also discussed the Iran crisis with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Sunday.
However, Wang has not spoken to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio since the launch of US-Israeli strikes on Iran on Saturday, the day Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and dozens of other Tehran officials were killed.
