China calls for full ceasefire in Iran

China calls for a full ceasefire at an early date in Iran, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said at a press conference in Beijing on Wednesday.

The U.S. Central Command said on early Wednesday that its forces had completed "self-defense" strikes against Iranian targets. Later, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) confirmed that it had carried out missile and drone strikes against U.S. bases in Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan early Wednesday.

"China is deeply concerned over the current situation in Iran. Relevant parties should remain calm and exercise restraint, stop exacerbating conflict and escalating tensions, take concrete actions to ease the situation, persist in resolving disputes through political and diplomatic means, and work for a comprehensive and lasting ceasefire at an early date," said Lin.

China has recorded ten consecutive quarters of growth in imports and exports with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the data for the second quarter of this year from the General Administration of Customs GAC) showed on Tuesday.

China's trade with ASEAN reached 4.34 trillion yuan (about 640 billion U.S. dollars) in the first half of 2026, marking an 18.2-percent increase compared to the same period of last year, according to GAC.

"In the first half of this year, China's imports and exports with ASEAN stood at 4.34 trillion yuan, up 18.2 percent year on year on. Of this total, imports and exports in the second quarter accounted for 2.37 trillion yuan which represented a year-on-year growth of 20.2 percent and marking the 10th consecutive quarter of growth.," said Lyu Daliang, a spokesman for the customs bureau, at a press briefing.

"China and ASEAN have continuously strengthened infrastructure connectivity. In the first half of the year, China's imports and exports with ASEAN via the new western land-sea corridor grew by 18.2 percent, with railway and highway transport increasing by 24.7 percent and 17.5 percent, respectively," Lyu said.

Established in 1967, ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Timor-Leste.