Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi visited China in late April. His visit came just after he visited Moscow, just before the third round of indirect talks between the United States and Iran in Oman and less than four months since his last visit to Beijing.
Araghchi met with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on April 23.
Wang said that Iran is a comprehensive strategic partner of China in the Middle East region. The friendship between China and Iran has withstood the test of changes in the international situation, and developing China-Iran relations is a strategic choice made by both sides. In recent years, China and Iran have worked together in solidarity and helped each other, deepened political mutual trust through mutual support, tightened the connection of their interests through practical cooperation, and united and collaborated in the fight against unilateralism and bullying, making the strategic significance of China-Iran relations even more prominent.
China is ready to work with Iran to jointly implement the important common understandings reached between the leaders of the two countries, continuously strengthen friendly cooperation in various fields, deepen coordination and cooperation in international and regional affairs, promote the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and the BRICS mechanism to play a greater role, and make more efforts to safeguard the common interests of both countries and to advance peace and stability in the region and the world.
Wang Yi further emphasised that China has always been committed to the political and diplomatic settlement of the Iranian nuclear issue and opposed the abuse of force and illegal unilateral sanctions. China appreciates Iran’s commitment to not develop nuclear weapons, respects Iran’s right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and supports Iran in conducting dialogue with all parties, including the United States, and in safeguarding its legitimate rights and interests through consultation and negotiation.
Araghchi said that the Iran-China comprehensive strategic partnership is based on mutual trust and is at its best in history. The friendship between the two countries has a solid foundation and will not be affected by other factors. In the face of the United States’ abuse of tariffs and its bullying acts, Iran will continue to work with China to support each other, jointly oppose unilateralism and hegemonism, and work together to safeguard multilateralism.
The two foreign ministers also discussed the questions of Palestine, Syria and Yemen among others.
Seyed Abbas Araghchi also met with Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang the same day.
The Iranian foreign minister highlighted China’s role as a strategic and trusted partner of the Islamic Republic of Iran and emphasised the importance of expanding cooperation on bilateral and multilateral levels, including within frameworks such as the SCO and the BRICS group. He deemed closer interaction among like-minded countries such as Iran and China necessary to counter bullying and unilateralism and reiterated Iran’s unwavering resolve to enhance all-round relations with China.
Araghchi also elucidated the viewpoint of the Islamic Republic regarding regional and international developments, especially the serious risks associated with the ongoing genocide by the Zionist regime in occupied Palestine, the warmongering by the regime in the region and the repeated US aggression against Yemen.
The following articles were originally published on the websites of the Chinese and Iranian foreign ministries.
Wang Yi Holds Talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi
On April 23, 2025, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi in Beijing.
Wang Yi said that Iran is a comprehensive strategic partner of China in the Middle East region. The friendship between China and Iran has withstood the test of changes in the international situation, and developing China-Iran relations is a strategic choice made by both sides. In recent years, China and Iran have worked together in solidarity and helped each other, deepened political mutual trust through mutual support, tightened the connection of their interests through practical cooperation, and united and collaborated in the fight against unilateralism and bullying, making the strategic significance of China-Iran relations even more prominent.
Wang Yi noted that the world today is full of turbulence. The United States’ abuse of tariffs has lost people’s support and isolated itself from the international community. The international community needs to stand united more than ever to uphold multilateralism and safeguard the basic norms governing international relations. China is ready to work with Iran to jointly implement the important common understandings reached between the leaders of the two countries, continuously strengthen friendly cooperation in various fields, deepen coordination and cooperation in international and regional affairs, promote the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the BRICS mechanism to play a greater role, and make more efforts to safeguard the common interests of both countries and to advance peace and stability in the region and the world.
Seyed Abbas Araghchi said that Iran attaches great importance to developing its relations with China, abides by the one-China principle, and supports China in safeguarding its core interests. The Iran-China comprehensive strategic partnership is based on mutual trust and is at its best in history. The friendship between the two countries has a solid foundation and will not be affected by other factors. In the face of the United States’ abuse of tariffs and its bullying acts, Iran will continue to work with China to support each other, jointly oppose unilateralism and hegemonism, and work together to safeguard multilateralism. Iran supports China’s work as the rotating chair of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and is willing to enhance high-level exchanges with China, expand mutually beneficial cooperation, strengthen communication and coordination in multilateral mechanisms such as the United Nations and BRICS, and promote the in-depth development of Iran-China relations.
The two sides had an in-depth exchange of views on the latest progress of the Iranian nuclear issue. Wang Yi emphasized that China has always been committed to the political and diplomatic settlement of the Iranian nuclear issue, and opposed the abuse of force and illegal unilateral sanctions. China appreciates Iran’s commitment to not develop nuclear weapons, respects Iran’s right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and supports Iran in conducting dialogue with all parties, including the United States, and in safeguarding its legitimate rights and interests through consultation and negotiation. This will help uphold the international nuclear non-proliferation regime and promote regional peace and stability. Seyed Abbas Araghchi praised China’s important and positive role in promoting the political and diplomatic settlement of the Iranian nuclear issue, and expressed willingness to maintain close communication and coordination with the Chinese side in this regard.
The two sides also exchanged views on regional issues such as the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Syria, Yemen and the situation in the Red Sea.
Iranian FM meets with China’s vice premier member of Politburo Standing Committee
The Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, who is visiting Beijing at the official invitation of his Chinese counterpart, met and held discussions on Wednesday morning at the Great Hall of the People with Ding Xuexiang, China’s Vice Premier and a member of the Standing Committee of Political Bureau of Central Committee of Communist Party.
During the meeting, both parties referred to the longstanding history of friendly relations between the two nations, reviewed the latest status of cooperation within the framework of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between Iran and China, and exchanged views on ways to expedite the implementation of the 25-year comprehensive cooperation plan.
The Iranian foreign minister highlighted China’s role as a strategic and trusted partner of the Islamic Republic of Iran and emphasized the importance of expanding cooperation on bilateral and multilateral levels, including within frameworks such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the BRICS group.
While explaining Iran’s Asian-oriented policy and regional and international developments, Araghchi deemed closer interaction among like-minded countries such as Iran and China necessary to counter bullying and unilateralism. He reiterated Iran’s unwavering resolve to enhance all-round relations with China.
Meanwhile, the Iranian foreign minister elucidated the viewpoint of the Islamic Republic of Iran regarding regional and international developments, especially the serious risks associated with the ongoing genocide by the Zionist regime in occupied Palestine, the warmongering by the regime in its surroundings, and the repeated US aggression against Yemen.
He stressed the need for an effective and immediate global response to halt lawlessness and prevent the dominance of the law of the jungle in international relations.
During the meeting, the Iranian foreign minister also briefed Ding Xuexiang on the process of indirect Iran-US talks and stated that the Islamic Republic of Iran, despite bitter past experiences, has embarked on the path of diplomacy with goodwill and seriousness.
For his part, Ding Xuexiang expressed satisfaction with the comprehensive development of Iran-China relations in all areas, describing the strategic partnership between the two countries as the result of mutual trust and respect and based on the shared interests of both nations.
He reaffirmed the Chinese leadership’s determination to further enhance relations and cooperation with Iran in all fields of mutual interest.
He emphasized the importance of boosting coordination and interaction between Iran and China to uphold multilateralism and the rule of law on the international stage and described collaboration between the two countries as a valuable example of South-South cooperation.
The Chinese vice premier also reiterated his country’s support for Iran’s efforts to lift sanctions and engage in discussions regarding the nuclear issue.
