China calls for de-escalation as Iran-Israel conflict threatens global stability

BEIJING: China on Monday urged Iran and Israel to exercise restraint and work toward de-escalation, warning that continued hostilities risk destabilizing the region and disrupting global economic stability.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun emphasized the importance of preventing the conflict from escalating further or spreading beyond the immediate region.

“The Chinese side urges the parties to the conflict to prevent the situation from escalating repeatedly, resolutely avoid the spillover of war, and return to the path of political resolution,” Guo said during a regular press briefing in Beijing.

The call for calm comes as fighting between Iran and Israel intensified for an 11th consecutive day.

Early Monday, aerial assaults between the two countries continued, with Tehran vowing retaliation after US forces launched bunker-buster bomb strikes over the weekend on three key Iranian nuclear sites.

China’s statement follows an appeal from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who over the weekend urged Beijing to use its influence to dissuade Iran from potentially closing the Strait of Hormuz — a vital maritime route through which about 20 percent of the world’s oil passes.

Read more: US urges China to dissuade Iran from Closing Strait of Hormuz

Beijing underscored that the Persian Gulf and its surrounding waters are of strategic significance for global trade. “Maintaining security and stability in this region is in the common interests of the international community,” Guo said.

He further called on world powers to intensify diplomatic efforts to prevent the conflict from triggering wider instability.

“China calls on the international community to make greater efforts to promote the de-escalation of the conflict and prevent regional instability from having a greater impact on global economic development,” he added.

So far, China has maintained its position of supporting diplomatic solutions, reiterating that political dialogue is the only sustainable path to ending the confrontation between Iran and Israel.