Iran Courts China Before Trump Meets Xi in Beijing
Araghchi is seeking Chinese cover as U.S. pressure rises, but Beijing’s main goal is to keep Hormuz quiet before Trump’s May 14-15 visit.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi’s meeting with Wang Yi in Beijing is a leverage move, not a routine diplomatic stop: Tehran wants China to stiffen its backing as talks with Washington stall, while Beijing wants Iran restrained ahead of Donald Trump’s trip to China, CNN reported. 
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Reuters
Beijing has leverage, but not a blank cheque
China is the one outside power that can materially help Iran, because it is the biggest buyer of Iranian crude. BBC estimated China imported 1.38 million barrels per day from Iran in 2025, around 12% of China’s total crude imports. 
BBC That gives Tehran cash flow and sanctions relief by stealth, but it also gives Beijing a reason to avoid a wider disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, which would raise prices and hit Chinese growth. BBC
That is why China has been publicly pushing talks. In March, Reuters reported that Beijing urged “truly meaningful and sincere peace talks” and said the priority was to seize every window for diplomacy. Reuters For Beijing, the ideal outcome is not an Iranian victory; it is a contained crisis that does not collide with its own trade war and summitry with Washington.
Iran wants cover; China wants restraint
Iran’s immediate ask is political protection. Al Jazeera reported that Tehran is looking for Chinese backing at the UN if the standoff over Hormuz draws new sanctions, and for clarity on what Beijing may concede when Xi meets Trump. 
Al Jazeera Beijing’s ask is the mirror image: no dramatic escalation from Iran before the summit. That makes China a useful intermediary, but not a guarantor. It can talk, buy oil, and slow-roll diplomacy; it will not burn its U.S. relationship to rescue Tehran.
The recent U.S. sanctioning of a Chinese refinery for buying Iranian crude shows where the pressure is landing. Washington is using sanctions to raise the cost of Beijing’s quiet support, while China is signaling it will not simply comply. Al Jazeera
China has played mediator before, most notably in the 2023 Saudi-Iran rapprochement. But that was a low-cost diplomatic win; managing an active Iran-U.S. crisis is harder because it directly affects energy markets and the 
International agenda around Trump and Xi.
What to watch next
The key date is May 14-15, when Trump meets Xi in Beijing. Watch whether China leans harder on Tehran to keep Hormuz calm, and whether Washington responds by widening sanctions on Chinese buyers, shippers, or refiners tied to Iranian oil.
