Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi has condemned the USA attacking Iran and urged the nation to stop “abusing the power of force and violating basic norms of international relations”.
“The United States should stop abusing the power of the force. Washington’s risky behaviour violates the basic norms of international relations,” a Chinese government release stated quoting Yi.
“Beijing will continue to play a constructive role in maintaining peace and security in the Middle East,” the release added.
Yi spoke to his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif for the first time after a US airstrike in Baghdad killed Iran’s most prominent military commander Qassem Soleimani.
Soleimani was the head of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The strike also killed Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, a commander of Iraq’s Shia Hashd al-Shaabi also called as Popular Mobilization Units.
“Military means will lead nowhere. Maximum pressure won’t work either. China urges the US to seek resolutions through dialogue instead of abusing force,” the statement added.
“Yi further told Zarif that China will continue to uphold the objective and just position and play a constructive role in safeguarding peace and security in the Gulf region of the Middle East,” the statement.
Meanwhile, the Chinese state media said the US action will trigger angry reactions across the volatile region.