China says urgent need to maintain Iran war ceasefire

BEIJING: China’s UN ambassador Fu Cong said on Friday it was an urgent necessity to maintain the Iran war ceasefire and that he was sure the Strait of Hormuz issue would be high on the agenda if it is still closed when US President Donald Trump goes to China this month.

Fu told reporters at the United Nations the strait needed to be reopened as quickly as possible. He said China was very concerned about remarks it had heard recently about the ceasefire being temporary and the need to initiate another round of attacks.

“Iran needs to lift its restrictions on the Strait of Hormuz, and the US needs to lift its naval blockade,” he said.

“The most urgent issue is to keep the ceasefire. And the ceasefire needs to last, and there has to be a good-faith negotiation between the two sides,” he said.

“I think the international community should be mobilized and raise our voices against the resumption of fighting.”

Asked about President Donald Trump’s visit to China scheduled for this month, he said: “I’m sure if Hormuz is still closed by the time President Trump goes to China, this issue will be high on the agenda of the bilateral talks.”

Fu also rejected allegations from some US officials about military cooperation between China and Iran as “false.”

Fu was briefing at the start of the month-long Chinese presidency of the UN Security Council and said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will chair a session of the council on May 26.

The US State Department did not respond immediately when asked if there were plans for US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to meet Wang while he was in the US.