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During a closed-door meeting at the White House with US President Donald Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping urged the US and Iran to return to dialogue to end their war, as Trump hailed the meeting as “great”.
China has “always maintained that the sovereignty and security of all countries should be respected” and has played a constructive role in easing tensions and encouraging negotiations, Xi said on Thursday, according to state-run Xinhua news agency.
He expressed China’s support for the US and Iran returning to the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding and voiced hope that both sides would return as soon as possible to resolve their differences through negotiations, reach a comprehensive agreement, including on the nuclear issue, and achieve peace.
After the US and Israel launched the war against Iran on February 28, Pakistan helped secure a ceasefire on April 8 and later hosted more than 20 hours of talks between American and Iranian officials in Islamabad.
Following weeks of mediation, Pakistan and Qatar helped secure the June 18 deal, which provided the two sides with a framework and 60 days to negotiate a longer-term agreement aimed at ending the war.
However, the two sides soon resumed retaliatory strikes, with tensions continuing.
Xi also urged the US to “adhere to the correct position of opposing ‘Taiwan independence’” and handle the Taiwan question “prudently” to lay a solid foundation for bilateral strategic cooperation and relations.
Beijing’s position on safeguarding its national unity and territorial integrity is “crystal clear”, he said.
China considers Taiwan a breakaway province, while Taipei has insisted on its independence since 1949.
Xi also said that building a constructive China-US relationship based on strategic stability is not an expedient measure nor something that can be achieved overnight, additionally calling for translating the new vision of a constructive bilateral relationship of strategic stability into action. Source: TRT World.
