China urged the United States and Iran to return to the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding to end the conflict, ahead of a planned meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump in Washington next week.
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The call was made by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi when he met with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi who was on a one-day visit to Beijing, according to a statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
"The prolongation of the US-Iran conflict is not in the common interests of the parties concerned or the international community," Wang told Araghchi.
"China calls on Iran and the United States to maintain rationality and restraint, promptly return to the Islamabad MoU, re-establish a negotiation mechanism based on the consensus reached so far, and conduct substantive consultations on issues of concern to each side," Wang said.
Wednesday's meeting marked their second face-to-face talks in the Chinese capital since the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran on February 28.
China is one of Iran's largest oil importers. The two countries maintain a "comprehensive strategic partnership" primarily driven by economic ties and discounted energy imports.
Bilateral trade volume between the two countries increased to more than US$41 billion (around Rp. 724.4 trillion) last year.
The Iran-US conflict began when the US and Israel launched a massive attack on Iran in February targeting government buildings, military facilities, missile infrastructure and air defenses.
Iran responded with missile and drone attacks on Israel and US bases in various parts of the region.
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