China hosts Russia, UAE and Spain for meetings on Hormuz blockade and war on Iran

[0:00] China President is meeting with the leaders of countries that have been impacted by the war and its economic fallout. [0:07] Xi Jinping is meeting Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to discuss political and economic ties between the two countries. [0:13] Earlier, Xi has met with Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Said as China calls for stronger relations with the Arab world. [0:21] And also in Beijing is Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov for talks on the U.S.-Iran conflict and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. [0:29] Beijing has affirmed its readiness to play a constructive role and contribute to peace in the Gulf region. [0:37] Historic changes are unfolding in ways never seen before. [0:40] Human society faces a choice between peace and war, unity or confrontation. [0:46] We must strengthen coordination, enhance cooperation and build a more solid, resilient and dynamic China-Arab comprehensive strategic partnership. [0:54] China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Qiyakhan is holding a daily media briefing in Beijing. [1:00] He's been speaking about the situation in the Strait a few moments ago. [1:03] We're going to take a listen. [1:04] With the temporary ceasefire agreement reached by relevant parties still in place, the United States ramped up military deployment and resorted to a targeted blockade. [1:19] This will only aggravate confrontation, escalate tension, undermine the already fragile ceasefire and further jeopardize safe passage through the Strait. [1:27] It is a dangerous and irresponsible move. [1:30] China believes that only a complete ceasefire can fundamentally create conditions for easing the situation. [1:37] We urge relevant parties to honor the ceasefire arrangement, stick to the direction of peace talks and take concrete actions to de-escalate the situation in the region [1:47] so that normal traffic via the Strait of Hormuz will be able to resume as soon as possible. [1:55] Well, Katrina Yu is joining us now live from Beijing. [1:57] So the Foreign Ministry spokesman, they're making it very clear where Beijing stands on this. [2:01] They want people to, everybody to honor the ceasefire agreement. [2:04] They say that military intervention is only going to make things worse. [2:08] President Xi and Pedro Sanchez, the Spanish leader, have been pledging closer ties. [2:13] I mean, what they're calling a crumbling international order. [2:16] The UAE, it seems, is also of a similar mindset. [2:24] That's right. [2:25] Very busy day for Chinese President Xi Jinping in the morning. [2:28] He met with the UAE Crown Prince, who is joined by a rather large delegation of government and industry officials. [2:35] They're here to strengthen, they say, the comprehensive strategic partnership between the UAE and China. [2:40] So we're expecting some trade deals to come out of that and behind closed doors, no doubt. [2:44] They also discussed the war in Iran. [2:46] After that, President Xi hosted Pedro Sanchez from Spain. [2:50] Now, this is the Spanish leader's fourth visit to China in just a few years. [2:55] He's been criticized by some in Europe for treating China as a sort of strategic ally rather than an adversary. [3:01] And he's really spoken about strengthening the ties between Beijing and Madrid for economic reasons. [3:07] But he also says that the two countries have more in common, that they both respect international law and international order. [3:12] He's actually calling on Xi Jinping to play a bigger role in the multipolar order and to do more when it comes to the war in Iran. [3:20] He said at a press conference following his lunch with Xi Jinping that no interlocutor is like China and is like China able to play a key diplomatic role to end this conflict. [3:30] They also spoke about countries, he mentioned, countries that violate international law, that they are only just subjected to threats, i.e. Israel. [3:40] So the Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, they're very critical of Israel and the U.S., moving closer to Beijing. [3:48] And Xi Jinping isn't done. [3:49] This week, actually, he's also due to host the Vietnamese leader, Toh Lam, who's arriving in China this evening for a four-day visit. [3:56] So I think this really shows that during this war, China has not just been calling for restraint and calling for a return to talks. [4:02] It's been really busy taking advantage of this moment to move closer to countries around the world who may be disenchanted with the U.S. and its actions in Iran. [4:11] And that's not to say that it's not doing anything when it comes to the war. [4:14] We've just had China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi speak to the Pakistani Foreign Minister yesterday. [4:19] He's hosting the Russian Foreign Minister today, Sergei Lavrov. [4:23] And it's expected they will also discuss the Iranian conflict in China, also saying that it will do whatever it can to try to restore peace and stability in that region. [4:32] Katrina, we understand that there is a Chinese ship that's been sanctioned by the U.S. passing through the Strait of Hormuz. [4:38] Are you hearing anything in Beijing about that? [4:41] That's right, the Starry Rich, which is a mid-sized oil tanker. [4:48] Interestingly, it's a Malawi-flagged ship, although it is quite clearly owned by China. [4:54] And it also broadcasted some signals as being affiliated with China. [4:58] We know that it left Dubai yesterday on Monday and actually stopped before the U.S. trade blockade was announced. [5:05] And it actually went to do a U-turn. And then it continued through the Strait of Hormuz. [5:10] And we know it was the first vessel to pass through the Strait since the blockade was imposed on Tuesday. [5:15] Now, interestingly, as you mentioned, it was actually sanctioned in 2023 by the U.S. for evading its sanctions on Iran. [5:21] And so, really, its passage through the Strait raises more questions than it provides answers. [5:26] First of all, was it allowed by the U.S. to pass through the Strait because it was coming from Dubai and not from Iran? [5:32] Or was its passage kind of missed by the U.S., maybe pointing to how difficult it is to enforce a blockade of that waterway? [5:40] So, I think we have to see how many more ships are able to pass and what their affiliations are. [5:47] Bringing us up to speed there from Beijing, there's Katrina Yu. Thank you very much indeed.