Acts very carefully: China’s President Xi Jinping.Image: keystone
The conflict between the USA and Iran is hitting Beijing economically hard – but instead of exerting pressure or intervening, China remains remarkably passive. There is a clear strategy behind this.
April 22, 2026, 10:47 p.mApril 22, 2026, 10:47 p.m
Thick air in the Chinese Foreign Ministry: Beijing is vigorously defending itself against a “malicious conclusion” from the former American UN ambassador Nikki Haley. A spokesman emphasized on Tuesday that China had nothing to do with the freighter that was intercepted by US forces in the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend.
The US Republican claimed on social media that the boarded freighter was transporting “chemicals for Iranian missiles” from China. China’s complicity in Iran’s military buildup is “a fact that cannot be ignored.” Almost at the same time as Haley’s accusation, President Xi Jinping called for the Strait of Hormuz to be opened.
The ship the US seized in the Strait of Hormuz this weekend was headed from China to Iran and is linked to chemical shipments for missiles.
It refused repeated orders to stop.
Another reminder that China is helping prop up Iran’s regime—a reality that can’t be ignored.
— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) April 20, 2026
But this diplomatic outburst represents a clear exception. Until then, Beijing had noticeably held back in the Iran war. Neither is the major power putting visible pressure on Tehran to get the mullahs to agree to a peace deal. It is still intervening more politically, let alone militarily.
Donald Trump’s military operation hits China at a sensitive point. Around 12 percent of its oil imports come from the Islamic Republic, and important trade routes run through the Strait of Hormuz, which is currently closed again.
Beijing’s reluctance is all the more the result of a sober balancing of interests. Although China is the most important buyer of Iranian oil, its dependence is limited. Experts emphasize that China can at least temporarily cushion defaults due to its gigantic reserves.
Sensitive point: An oil tanker is unloaded at the port of Qingdao in East China’s Shandong Province.Image: keystone
What is more decisive is that Beijing shies away from any instability. “They don’t like war hanging over them,” says Asia analyst Yun Sun from the Stimson Center “New York Times”. That’s why Beijing officially relies entirely on diplomacy. Ahead of his appeal on Monday, President Xi Jinping presented a four-point plan that calls for “peaceful coexistence”, respect for sovereignty, compliance with international law and a link between security and economic development.
China wants to “promote peace talks” in the Iran war and emphasizes that “violence can never be the end of disputes,” it said in a comment the state broadcaster CGTN. At the same time, the Chinese government will “not take sides”.
Conflict in the Middle East as a gigantic trap
The “Washington Post” summarizes China’s role as follows: “Beijing is trying to position itself as a peacemaker – but at the same time wants to maintain its distance from war in a region where it has minimal military influence.” The danger of being drawn into the conflict is precisely what President Xi Jinping’s leadership seeks to avoid at all costs: “Leadership in the Middle East is not a prize to be sought, but a trap to be avoided.”
Present China as an alternative to Trump’s USA.Image: keystone
Furthermore, as the New York Times notes, there is “little that Beijing could or would do to put its partner under pressure” anyway. That’s why Beijing consciously acts in the background. The reluctance is noticeable even in attempts to mediate. Analyst Sarah Beran writes in the New York Times that Xi Jinping’s fear of being seen as the bogeyman if negotiations fail is too great.
Instead, people prefer to assign the role of careless aggressor to the USA, which is coupled with a fundamental skepticism towards military escalations. “Chinese leaders see US interventions in the Middle East as an important driver of American decline – and have no interest in following this model,” adds China expert Patricia Kim.
This allows China to present itself as an alternative while the USA is tied down militarily. Especially in the current situation, China can show the world that it has more responsible leadership than Trump’s unpredictable government. As if to underline this, the GGTN commentary says: “China upholds international law; a right that allows even the weakest nations to stand tall.” (aargauerzeitung.ch)