Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday said that China values the traditional friendship between China and Iran and supports Iran in safeguarding its sovereignty, security, territorial integrity and national dignity.
Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks when holding a phone conversation with Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi at the latter's request.
Araghchi briefed on the latest regional situation, stating that the United States has launched a war against Iran for the second time during the Iran-U.S. negotiations.
Noting that positive progress has been made in this round of negotiations between the two sides, he said the actions of the U.S. side violated all international laws and have trampled on Iran's red line.
Iran has no choice but to defend itself with all its might, said Araghchi.
He said that China has publicly expressed its fair and just position and hopes to continue to play a positive role in preventing an escalation of tensions in the region.
Wang reiterated China's principled position on the current situation in Iran, expressing support for Iran in safeguarding its legitimate rights and interests.
He said China has urged the United States and Israel to immediately cease military operations, avoid further escalation of tensions, and prevent the conflict from spreading across the Middle East region.
China believes that under the current severe and complex situation, Iran can maintain national and social stability, pay attention to reasonable concerns of its neighboring countries, and ensure the safety of Chinese citizens and institutions in Iran, said Wang.
Araghchi said Iran will make every effort to guarantee the safety of Chinese personnel and institutions.
Chinese FM says supports Iran in safeguarding sovereignty, territorial integrity
Chinese stocks closed mixed on Monday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index up 0.47 percent to reach 4,182.59 points due to gains from energy stocks as Israel and the U.S. continue strikes on Iran, according to Timothy Pope, a market analyst for China Global Television Network (CGTN).
Oil prices have surged as the conflict has started to widen, which helped to push up shares in Chinese oil refiners, said Pope.
"Naturally today the markets are consumed with ongoing fallout from Ayatollah Khamenei's death and the continuing strikes against Iran by Israel and the US, and retaliatory strikes by Iran and various targets around the region. This has shaken the markets, just as it's shaken the world. The Shanghai Composite Index was one of the few regional indices rising today -- adding half of one percent thanks to gains from energy stocks. Oil prices have surged as the conflict has started to widen, and that's helped to push up shares in Chinese oil refiners," Pope said
"But the picture is a little more nuanced for China, which processes some oil extracted in Iran. The quantities have fallen sharply in recent years, and most of that oil is bought at a steep discount and goes to small independent refiners -- not the ones listed on the stock market -- so it's not going to be the big state giants which take the hit. But at the same time, the government is promoting consolidation among these independent refiners -- the so-called teapot refineries. So if they do have to scale back and merge and so forth as a result of supply issues here, I don't think you're going to see many tears shed at an official level," said the analyst.
"There are a lot of layers to this one for China's energy market and the global energy market, but for the moment, I'll get back to today's stocks. Gold stocks were also back up. We saw an index tracking them was up almost 7 percent today - this, arguably, predictable as investors chased safe haven assets. Airlines were down as well, the Middle East being a major international travel hub. We are already seeing flight disruptions and airport disruptions there. And of course, airliners are very heavily fuel dependent. Oil price goes up, so does the price of jet fuel," he said.
The Shenzhen Component Index closed 0.2 percent lower at 14,465.79 points on Monday, while the ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, lost 0.49 percent on Monday to close at 3,294.16 points.
Shanghai Composite Index up 0.47 percent amid Middle East turmoil: analyst
Shanghai Composite Index up 0.47 percent amid Middle East Turmoil: analyst
