With an eye on Trump visit, China weighs Iran response Premium

China carefully considers its response to the Iran crisis amid preparations for Trump's upcoming visit, emphasizing diplomatic ties and cooperation.

With a focus on U.S. President Donald Trump visiting Beijing next month, China appears to be carefully weighing its response to the Iran crisis, calibrating what would have ordinarily been a strong condemnation of massive military strikes on a close partner.

On Sunday (March 8, 2026), China’s Foreign Minister and Politburo member Wang Yi, in his annual 90-minute remarks with Chinese and foreign journalists along the sidelines of the National People’s Congress (NPC) or legislature, called for an end to “a war that should not have happened” and warned of the return of “the law of the jungle”.

Israel-Iran war LIVE

At the same time, it was made clear that preparations were in full swing to ensure Mr. Trump’s upcoming visit to Beijing would be successful.

Mr. Wang also praised Mr. Trump, saying the Presidents of both countries were “leading by example” and “providing an important strategic safeguard for the China-U.S. relationship to improve and move forward”, ahead of what he described as “a big year” for China-U.S. relations.

Mr. Wang took questions on issues China sees as its diplomatic priorities, including relations with the U.S., Russia, India and Japan – the only countries that received specific mention. He also broadly addressed China’s ties with Europe, Latin America, Africa, ASEAN, and the Global South.