China says blockading Iranian ports does not serve common interests, urges peace talks

China's foreign minister Wang Yi attends a press conference for the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress in Beijing on March 8, Iori Sagisawa/Pool/AFP/Getty Images

RIYADH, April 14 - Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Monday that blockading Iranian ports did not serve the international community's common interests and called for greater efforts to promote peace talks and preserve the ceasefire between the United States and Iran.

In a phone call with Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Wang said the international community should work to maintain the "extremely fragile" ceasefire and prevent a renewed outbreak of hostilities, according to a Chinese Foreign Ministry readout.

"The urgent task is to prevent the resumption of hostilities and maintain the hard-won momentum of the ceasefire," the readout said.

Separately, Wang met Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, the United Arab Emirates' special envoy to China, and said moves to blockade the Strait of Hormuz and other ports in the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman did not serve the common interests of the international community, according to a summary of the meeting posted on X by Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian.

The statement came after the United States began steps earlier on Monday to block the Strait of Hormuz along with other ports in the Gulf, according to the Chinese account.

"Achieving a comprehensive and lasting ceasefire through political and diplomatic means is the fundamental way forward," the post said.