Tehran, Iran - A top Chinese official said that Beijing is keen to pursue stronger ties with Iran and ease tensions in the Middle East, which have skyrocketed since the US launched military operations in February.
During talks with Ali Bagheri Kani, the deputy secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, China's special envoy to the Middle East Zhai Jun said that Beijing is keen to pursue stronger ties with Tehran, Reuters reports.
Zhai is in the midst of a lengthy tour of the Middle East which will see him visit Iran, Oman, and Saudi Arabia over the course of November.
According to Zhai, China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi has recently told Iranian and Saudi officials there needs to be a "focus on political solutions with a rational and pragmatic spirit, and promote the early restoration of stability and development in the region."
Wang for his part has said all parties in the ongoing Middle East conflict, involving not only those engaged in President Donald Trump's war on Iran, but also Saudi Arabia and Yemen, should focus on political solutions rather than military ones.
It is expected that Chinese President Xi Jinping will bring up the topic of Iran during a meeting with Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Shenzhen next week.
Trump has touted the meeting as an opportunity to talk about "a lot of things, including Denuclearization, but we'll be talking a lot of things. We're trying to end the war in Iran."