Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will visit China on Wednesday, his second such trip since the US and Israel attacked his country in late February.
Araghchi will meet with Foreign Minister Wang Yi, the Chinese government said in a statement on Tuesday. It didn’t say how long Araghchi would stay.
The visit underscores the close communication that Beijing and Tehran have maintained during the war, and comes in addition to the sides holding several calls. Araghchi last visited China in early May, just before Trump’s visit to Beijing.
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Araghchi’s trip comes before Chinese leader Xi Jinping is due to meet with President Donald Trump in Washington on Sept. 24. Iran is widely expected to be among the talking points of that summit.
The visit offers China and Iran a chance to align before Xi and Trump meet, said Jesse Marks, founder of Rihla Research & Advisory and a former Middle East policy adviser in the US government.
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{{/usCountry}}“This is likely last-minute shuttle diplomacy by Tehran and Beijing to ensure there is some form of shared objective on the table,” he said. The discussions would probably touch on the Strait of Hormuz, the vital energy lane that is mostly closed, and nuclear issues, Marks added.
China has thrown Tehran an economic lifeline as its biggest buyer of oil, and Xi appears in no rush to help Trump in his efforts to hurt the Middle Eastern country economically. Still, ignoring Trump completely could antagonize the American leader.
The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday that Iran got high-resolution satellite images of a base in Jordan from Chinese entities before an attack in July that killed three US troops.
In August, the US sanctioned Chinese and Hong Kong entities over alleged economic ties to Iran. Beijing responded by saying its relationship with Iran “should not be disrupted or undermined,” and it would safeguard its interests.