Can China help Trump with Iran?
As Iran’s top trade partner and key energy importer, China can quietly push Tehran toward a deal, especially if it hints that oil purchases or investment flows could be affected by escalations.
With negotiations between the United States and Iran set to resume in Oman on Friday, a surge of diplomacy in Beijing corridors has taken shape.
China is hosting a lead Iran negotiator and communicating with the United States and Russia to try to reel in a partial deal to avert a US-Iranian military confrontation.
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Leading this week
A senior Iranian Foreign Ministry official and nuclear negotiator, Kazem Gharibabadi, traveled to Beijing on Wednesday amid a flurry of high-level contacts among Iranian, Chinese and Russian officials, as Al-Monitor reported Feb. 4. Gharibabadi will hold consultations with senior Chinese officials and convey a message from Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian to Chinese President Xi Jinping
According to a statement released by China's foreign ministry on Thursday, Gharibabadi met with Liu Bin, China’s assistant foreign minister. Liu told his Iranian counterpart that China "supports Iran's legitimate right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy" and "opposes the threat of force." He added that China will continue to support "the proper resolution of the Iranian nuclear issue."
On Tuesday, Xi spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin, highlighting their bilateral ties as a “stabilizing force” in an increasingly volatile world, according to the Russian state news agency TASS. Just hours later, Xi held a separate call with US President Donald Trump, in which, according to Trump’s post on Truth Social, the two leaders discussed “the current situation with Iran.”
These conversations followed a weekend of active diplomacy: Putin met with Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, in Moscow on Friday, and two days later, Russian Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu traveled to Beijing for talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
💭What can China actually do?
Beijing has several levers at its disposal.
🟡 Pressure through partnership: As Iran’s top trade partner and key energy importer, China can quietly push Tehran toward moderation, especially if it hints that oil purchases or investment flows could be affected by escalations.
🟡 Influence at the UN Security Council: While the talks are not taking place at the United Nations, China’s status as a permanent UNSC member gives it leverage if the issue returns to that forum. Beijing could help shape the diplomatic terrain, either by blunting US-led initiatives or by rallying support for diplomatic engagement.
🟡 Diplomatic framing: China will likely encourage engagement. It favors “dialogue and restraint,” a formula that could help Washington and Tehran save face if incremental progress is made.
The takeaway: China doesn’t want a nuclear-armed Iran either; such an outcome would destabilize global oil markets, invite a regional arms race and possibly create headaches for managing broader Gulf relations. For Trump — whose team wants a foreign policy win without another Middle East quagmire — having Beijing leaning on Iran could prove strategically useful.
If Beijing can nudge Tehran toward nuclear restraint in exchange for sanctions relief, the Oman talks could advance a US-Iranian channel and position China as a constructive, if limited, facilitator.
Photo of the week
US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands after talks at the Gimhae Air Base, in Busan, Oct. 30, 2025. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)
Deals and visits ✈️
- China, Egypt mark 70 years of diplomatic ties
- Chinese-built heavy haul railway opens in Algeria
- Kuwait awards $3.2 billion sewage plant contract to Chinese construction company
- Air China launches direct flights between Abu Dhabi and Beijing
- China’s Xingfa Group signs MoU with Egypt’s Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ministry
- Chinese special envoy to the Middle East meets Jordanian ambassador
- UAE delegation attends Asian Financial Forum in Hong Kong
- Bahrain, China sign fisheries agreement
- Egypt’s Suez Canal Economic Zone signs $34 million deal with Chinese company to develop production lines for plant project
What we are reading
- China tightening its grip on Latin America: GIS
- As US toughens stance, how exposed is China to Iranian and Venezuelan oil?: South China Morning Post
- China seeks military foothold in Egypt, courting elites: Modern Diplomacy