Chinese foreign minister kicks off meeting with Iranian counterpart

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi began a meeting with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araqchi in Beijing on Wednesday, state news agency Xinhua said.



Araqchi's one-day trip comes a week ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump's scheduled visit to Beijing for a summit with President Xi Jinping on May 14 and 15.



Earlier this week, the U.S. and Iran launched new attacks in the Gulf as they wrestled for control over the Strait of Hormuz with duelling maritime blockades, threatening what was already a fragile truce.



Trump later said the U.S. Navy would help ships pass through the strait. But that operation was paused after Trump on Tuesday said there had been "great progress" made toward a comprehensive agreement with Iran.



There was no immediate reaction from Tehran.



The Iranian foreign minister said the Monday attacks, taking place after he said Tehran was looking into Trump's request for negotiations, showed there was no military solution to the crisis.



Beijing, while maintaining a broadly neutral position on the conflict, has opposed the attacks on Iran's sovereignty and also facilitated mediation efforts.



China has repeatedly urged the U.S. and Iran to maintain the ceasefire and lift the restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz.