Beijing, May 14: Iran has allowed dozens of Chinese ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz as China toughened its stance against the militarisation of the key waterway during talks between US President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping.
Iran shut down the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, following the launch of the US-Israeli attacks on February 28.
Since Wednesday night, Iran permitted 30 Chinese ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz in compliance with Iranian management protocols, Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported, quoting a senior official of the Revolutionary Guard-Navy as saying, according to China’s state-run Xinhua news agency on Thursday.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Thursday said that the Strait of Hormuz is open to all commercial vessels, provided they cooperate with Iranian naval forces to pass through the waterway.
The reports of Iran permitting Chinese ships came as Trump and Xi agreed that the Strait of Hormuz must remain open to support the free flow of energy, according to a readout of their Thursday meeting by the White House.
However, Beijing has not made any comment to back the US claims.
Xi also opposed any implementation of tolls on vessels crossing the strait, which has effectively been closed since the start of the Iran war, it said.
Xi expressed interest in purchasing more American oil to reduce China’s dependence on the strait in future, according to the readout.
Iran has tightened its grip on the Strait of Hormuz and made use of it to build pressure on Trump to end the US war against it. As a result, hundreds of ships have been stranded, causing a major global energy crisis.
Iran has occasionally allowed ships of China, its strategic ally, which has been buying 90 per cent of Iranian oil, disregarding the US sanctions.
However, the situation changed after Trump imposed a blockade of Iranian ports, halting the movement of all ships. This also resulted in anxiety in Beijing, which, despite the massive stockpile of oil reserves, expressed concern over the impact.
Other Gulf states, including the UAE and Saudi Arabia, with whom Beijing has strong ties, also started expressing concern over the Iranian blockade.
When asked whether Beijing will help Washington reopen the Strait of Hormuz, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC that China has “a much bigger interest in reopening the strait than the US does.”
“A reopening of the strait benefits China,” he said, adding that he expects Beijing will “do what they can” and work “behind the scenes”.
Earlier, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington hopes to convince Beijing during the talks between Trump and Xi to play a more active role in resolving the Iran war crisis. Trump, who arrived in Beijing last night, had his first meeting with Xi on Thursday.
Speaking to Fox News aboard Air Force One on the way to Beijing, Rubio said the Iran war was a huge source of instability and threatens to destabilise Asia more than any other part of the world because it’s heavily reliant on the straits for energy.
“It’s in (China’s) interest to resolve this,” he said.
