Wang Yi calls Iranian counterpart, US warns China on Iran weapons and oil
April 15 was another confusing day for US-China-Iran relations.
First up, top diplomat Wang Yi called up Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, telling him that, while China supports Iran’s sovereignty and security interests (MoFA):
- "Efforts to restore normal navigation in the Strait [of Hormuz] are the unanimous call of the international community."
Next up, US President Donald Trump told Fox Business that he had exchanged letters with Xi Jinping (Reuters 1).
- Trump said he warned Xi against providing weapons to Iran and that Xi replied that China was not doing so.
Trump subsequently posted on Truth Social that he would “permanently open the Strait of Hormuz” on China’s behalf and that the US and China were “working together smartly, and very well!”
Uhhh okay.
Finally, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that the US is “now willing” to impose secondary sanctions on buyers of Iranian oil and that his department had already warned two Chinese banks about possible sanctions (Reuters 2).
Get smart: Signals from the Trump administration are difficult to parse.
- What is clear is that China wants to see a durable ceasefire and an end to disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.
- Beijing will continue to push Iran to negotiate and try to avoid stepping on American toes.
Get smarter: If enacted, Treasury sanctions would elicit a strong response from Beijing – and could fully shatter the fragile Sino-American détente.