Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged the United States and Iran to settle their disputes through negotiations after President Donald Trump’s Beijing summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, placing the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s nuclear program at the center of a fragile diplomatic opening.

Wang, briefing reporters on the outcome of Trump’s state visit to China, said Beijing encouraged Washington and Tehran to keep working through dialogue on issues including Iran’s nuclear program. He also called for the swift reopening of the Strait of Hormuz “on the basis of maintaining a ceasefire,” according to Anadolu Agency’s report on his remarks.

The comments came after Trump left Beijing following talks with Xi that also covered trade, Taiwan, technology and broader strategic competition between the world’s two largest economies. Wang said the two leaders held nearly nine hours of discussions during Trump’s three-day visit, describing the exchanges as candid and strategic. He said China and the United States also agreed to establish trade and investment councils, though working-level details remained under negotiation.

The Iran comments were the most immediate global security takeaway from the summit. Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One after leaving Beijing that he had discussed the possibility of lifting sanctions on Chinese companies that buy Iranian oil and would decide soon. Reuters reported that the U.S. had recently imposed sanctions on several Chinese oil refiners over purchases of Iranian crude, including Hengli Petrochemical.

Trump also said he and Xi agreed that Iran could not be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon and that Tehran must reopen the Strait of Hormuz. “We don’t want them to have a nuclear weapon, we want the straits open,” Trump said in Beijing, according to Reuters. But China’s public readout was more restrained, emphasizing a political settlement and avoiding a direct confirmation that Beijing would pressure Iran in the way Washington has sought.

China’s Foreign Ministry, responding Friday to questions about whether Beijing had agreed to help reopen Hormuz, said the conflict had caused severe losses in Iran and other regional countries, strained global growth, disrupted supply chains and hurt energy stability. Spokesperson Guo Jiakun said there was “no point in continuing this conflict,” adding that dialogue and negotiation were the correct path and that “the use of force is a dead end.”

Guo said China welcomed the recent U.S.-Iran ceasefire and efforts to explore a negotiated resolution. He said the “door of dialogue” should not be shut again and called for shipping lanes to reopen as soon as possible to keep global supply chains stable. Beijing also said it would continue working with the international community to support peace talks and a lasting settlement in the Middle East.

The dispute is highly relevant to the United States because the Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most important maritime energy corridors. Reuters reported that before the current conflict, the strait carried about one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supply. The disruption has fed market pressure, with Reuters reporting oil around $109 a barrel Friday amid concern over the lack of progress toward a settlement.

The crisis also intersects with U.S.-China economic tensions. Trump said he discussed sanctions relief for Chinese companies buying Iranian oil, a step that would carry both diplomatic and market implications. China is the largest buyer of Iranian oil, according to Reuters, giving Beijing commercial exposure to U.S. sanctions and potential influence with Tehran. At the same time, any U.S. move to lift or soften sanctions would likely face scrutiny in Washington if it is seen as rewarding Chinese firms while Iran’s nuclear program and Hormuz remain unresolved.

Iran has signaled that it would welcome help from Beijing. The Associated Press reported Friday that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said lack of trust was the biggest obstacle in negotiations to end the war with the United States and that Tehran would be open to diplomatic assistance, particularly from China. Araghchi cited China’s earlier role in facilitating restored ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia as a reason Beijing could be useful in easing tensions.

Still, AP reported that Beijing has shown limited public interest in U.S. requests for deeper involvement, even as Trump said Xi had offered to help. Trump also said Friday that he did not ask Xi for “favors” on Iran, underscoring the political sensitivity of relying on Beijing for leverage in a Middle East crisis while Washington and China remain locked in disputes over technology, trade, Taiwan and military influence.

The nuclear issue remains the central barrier. Trump has demanded a major rollback of Iran’s nuclear activities and has said he wants to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons. Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful and has resisted demands to relinquish enriched uranium. AP reported that Araghchi described the uranium question as one of the most difficult issues in negotiations with the United States.

For Beijing, Wang’s comments allow China to present itself as a pro-diplomacy actor without publicly aligning with Washington’s pressure campaign. Wang said force cannot resolve complex disputes and that political engagement is the only viable path. That language is consistent with China’s broader message that the conflict should move toward a ceasefire, negotiation and regional security talks, rather than continued military coercion.

The summit’s broader U.S.-China context remains important. Wang said the two sides agreed to define future ties as a “constructive, strategic and stable relationship” and to expand exchanges across diplomacy, security, trade, health, agriculture and culture. He also said Taiwan was a key topic, reiterating Beijing’s position that the issue is China’s internal affair and warning that mishandling it could damage bilateral stability.

But the Iran-Hormuz issue may become the first major test of whether the warmer public tone from the Trump-Xi meetings can translate into coordinated action. The United States wants the shipping lane reopened, Iran wants relief from U.S. pressure and assurances that negotiations will be fair, and China wants regional stability without appearing to take instructions from Washington. That leaves Wang’s call for diplomacy as an important signal, but not yet evidence of a breakthrough.

For now, the verified outcome is narrower: China is urging negotiation, Trump says he raised sanctions and Hormuz with Xi, Iran says it is open to Chinese help, and the strait remains a pressure point for U.S. security policy and global energy markets. Whether that becomes a durable diplomatic process will depend on whether Washington, Tehran and Beijing can move beyond public statements toward enforceable steps on nuclear limits, maritime access and sanctions.