Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi listens to a press conference on the sidelines of the National People’s Congress (NPC) at the Media Center in Beijing, Sunday, March 8, 2026.
Andy Wang/AP
Hide caption
Toggle title
Andy Wang/AP
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Sunday that a US-Israeli war with Iran “shouldn’t have happened” and “wouldn’t do anybody any good”.
But while Wang criticized the US over the Iran war, he gave a positive signal that the expected meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping later this month could still go ahead.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an annual political meeting in Beijing, Wang did not confirm the date of the meeting but said China was open to talks with the United States.
He said the world could not afford to see two big economies go into conflict.
Here’s a summary of what Wang said on five key international issues.
1. The Iran War
China wants the fighting to stop and all parties in the Iran war to return to the negotiating table.
“The mite does not make it right, and the world cannot return to the law of the jungle,” Wang He said.
He said the US and Israel must respect the sovereignty, security and territorial integrity of Iran and other countries in the Middle East.
China said it would send Ambassador to the region for mediation.
However, the Chinese are not impartial.
China is more strategically aligned with Iran than the US and Israel. China buys large quantities of oil from Iran and elsewhere in the Middle East – which is affected by Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
2. Relations with the US – and Europe
China says wants to “Peaceful Coexistence” and “Win-Win Cooperation” with the United States.
“Both China and the US are big countries. Neither side can reshape the other, but we can choose how we engage,” he said.
Chinese diplomats often stress that mutual respect has deep meaning for the US suppress And that includes the inevitable rise of China.
At the same time, Wang sought to allay fears in Europe that China’s rise would come at the expense of their core industries.
Europe mistakenly perceives China as a competitor and should instead consider it a “global partner,” Wang said.
.
“We are happy to see European friends coming out of the ‘small attic’ of protectionism and building their strength and competitiveness into the ‘fitness club’ of the Chinese market,” he said.
3. tariffs
Wang implicitly criticized President Trump’s global trade tariffs, saying that pursuing trade protectionism was “like locking oneself in a dark room.”
“It may keep out wind and rain, but it also shuts out light and air,” he said.
Unlike the US, China has said it is opening its own market to global players.
From May 1, China He said It will completely lift tariffs on all imports from most African countries so it will “help Africa access the enormous opportunities of the Chinese market,” according to Wang.
However, they did not address the slowdown in domestic demand, which was on display in China earlier this week Set Its economic growth target, its lowest since 1990, is between 4.5% and 5% this year.
4. Japan and Taiwan
Sino-Japanese relations are currently particularly fraught, with Japanese Prime Minister Sane Takaichi suggesting last year that Japan could become involved if China invades Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own territory.
It is up to Tokyo, Wang said decide What is the future of China-Japan relations?
“Taiwan never was, is not and never will be a country,” Wang He said. “Taiwan affairs are purely China’s internal affairs.”
He said that Japan has no right to interfere in the Taiwan issue.
5. Gaza
Wang said China supports a two-state solution for Palestine.
“Any other arrangements or new mechanisms should strengthen — rather than weaken — the two-state solution,” Wang said He said.
He welcomed international efforts to activate the ceasefire, but said more hard work lay ahead.
It was China Invited Trump to join his peace council but did not participate.
