Top diplomat Wang Yi speaks with his counterparts from the rival nations in separate phone calls, as Beijing ramps up mediation efforts.
China urged Israel and Iran to de-escalate tensions and avoid a “vicious circle” in separate phone calls between top diplomat Wang Yi and his counterparts from the rival nations on Monday.
As Beijing ramps up its mediation efforts in the Middle East, foreign vice-minister Deng Li also spoke with his Saudi Arabian counterpart Waleed bin Abdulkarim El-Khereiji by phone on Monday, when the pair exchanged views on the situation in the region.
During the call with Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz, Wang said China was highly concerned about the tensions with Iran and that renewed conflict and turmoil in the region was not in any country’s interests.
“It is hoped that all parties will proceed with caution to prevent the situation from falling into a vicious circle,” Wang told Katz, according to a Chinese foreign ministry statement.
Wang also called for an “immediate, complete and permanent” ceasefire in Gaza and the release of all hostages, saying that was the “top priority” in response to the prolonged conflict in the region.
He said the voices of the international community were clear, calling for all parties to return to the “two-state solution” political path as soon as possible and to reach a “harmonious coexistence” of the Jewish and Arab peoples.
“This is the right way to achieve stability and lasting security for all parties, including Israel,” he added.
Katz later posted on X that during the call he had “clarified that Iran is the primary source for undermining stability in the Middle East”, adding that Tehran “constitutes a threat” both directly and through its proxies such as Hamas and Hezbollah.
“We expect that China will express a balanced and fair position in relation to the war,” he said, emphasising that Israel would respond to the Iranian attack on the country earlier this month.
The phone call came days after the first anniversary of the raid by Hamas militants on southern Israel, and amid growing concerns about a wider war in the Middle East due to the recent escalation of tensions between Israel and Iran.
Israel is weighing its retaliatory options after Iran fired more than 180 ballistic missiles at it on October 1.
In a separate call on Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi told Wang that Tehran was deeply concerned about the risk of an overall escalation of the current regional situation and did not want to see a further expansion of conflict, according to the Chinese readout.
Araghchi added that “Israel should avoid taking risks and proceed cautiously”, the statement said.
“China has always advocated for resolving hotspot issues through dialogue and consultation and opposes exacerbating tensions, expanding conflicts and military adventurism,” Wang told Araghchi.
Wang said Beijing was pleased to see the Iranian government carrying out mediation efforts and improving its understanding with relevant parties and its relations with regional countries.
Araghchi welcomed efforts by the Chinese government to help stop Israeli aggression on Gaza and Lebanon, and to restore peace and security in the region, according to Iran’s official Islamic Republic News Agency.
It said the two ministers also discussed the coming meeting between Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Brics summit in Kazan, Russia next week.
During the phone call with Katz, Wang also called on Israel to take concrete measures to ensure the safety of United Nations peacekeepers in Lebanon as well as Chinese institutions and nationals in Israel.
Over the past week, the UN has said that the Israeli military fired on its peacekeepers, broke through its base and injured more than a dozen of its troops in southern Lebanon. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hezbollah of using the international force as “human shields”.
Katz noted the economic cooperation between Israel and China, and that some 20,000 workers from China were continuing to work in Israel during the war.
