This is the first time Xi has issued a public statement addressing the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

For more than a decade, leader Xi Jinping has overseen a transformation within the Chinese economy with one aim: making it energy-secure.

Chinese officials want the Strait of Hormuz open and deny allegations of providing weapons to Iran, weeks before Trump and Xi are expected to meet.

As Trump pursued an unpopular war, Beijing positioned itself as a peacemaker, with little incentive to pressure Iran or annoy the U.S.

Former CIA official John Kiriakou said President Trump's "handshake" deal with China to cut Iran's weapons supply could be a game-changer for the Middle East.

China is a central actor in the war with Iran, though it remains largely unnamed in Washington’s public debate. Without Beijing’s money, oil purchases, sanctions‑busting networks, and

President Donald Trump has warned China not to supply Iran with new air defense systems. His admonition is recognition of the undeniable fact that an Axis of Autocracies seeks to overthrow the U.S.-led world order.

The technology would enhance Iran's ability to detect and track incoming threats, like low-flying drones and cruise missiles.

China is Iran’s most important ally, but it lacks the full diplomatic and economic leverage to force Tehran to make concessions, according to experts who spoke to RFE/RL.

Countries are navigating between the desire to speed up the green transition and worries over Beijing’s clean-tech dominance.