Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during a press conference on the sidelines of the National People’s Congress (NPC), in Beijing, China on March 8, 2026.
| Photo Credit: Reuters
With a focus on U.S. President Donald Trump visiting Beijing next month, China appears to be carefully weighing its response to the Iran crisis, calibrating what would have ordinarily been a strong condemnation of massive military strikes on a close partner.
On Sunday (March 8, 2026), China’s Foreign Minister and Politburo member Wang Yi, in his annual 90-minute remarks with Chinese and foreign journalists along the sidelines of the National People’s Congress (NPC) or legislature, called for an end to “a war that should not have happened” and warned of the return of “the law of the jungle”.
Israel-Iran war LIVE
At the same time, it was made clear that preparations were in full swing to ensure Mr. Trump’s upcoming visit to Beijing would be successful.
Mr. Wang also praised Mr. Trump, saying the Presidents of both countries were “leading by example” and “providing an important strategic safeguard for the China-U.S. relationship to improve and move forward”, ahead of what he described as “a big year” for China-U.S. relations.
Mr. Wang took questions on issues China sees as its diplomatic priorities, including relations with the U.S., Russia, India and Japan – the only countries that received specific mention. He also broadly addressed China’s ties with Europe, Latin America, Africa, ASEAN, and the Global South.
On India, the Chinese Foreign Minister said relations had been given a “fresh start” following the 2024 meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping in Kazan, and their second meeting in Tianjin last year when China hosted the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit. Mr. Xi is expected to visit India this year for the BRICS Summit, and Mr. Modi is likely to head to China when it is its turn to host next year.
Mr. Wang said both sides “must step up to the plate, and support each other’s BRICS presidency over the next two years, so as to make BRICS cooperation more substantive and bring new hope to the Global South.” He said Beijing was “heartened to see reenergised interactions at all levels, a new record in bilateral trade, and closer people-to-people exchanges.”
‘Partners, not rivals’
In addition to cooperating as part of BRICS, he put forward three other measures for relations, including maintaining “the correct strategic perception of each other as partner rather than rival, and opportunity instead of threat”; jointly safeguarding peace and stability in the border areas; and focusing on “development, which is the biggest common denominator of our two countries” to “produce more visible outcomes of practical cooperation.”
On Sunday (March 8, 2026), the ongoing Iran crisis and the China-U.S. relationship received the most attention. “This is a war that should not have happened,” Mr. Wang said, repeating China’s “calls for an immediate stop to military operations”.
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Beijing remains especially concerned about the implications to its energy security from continuing instability in West Asia, at a time when it is already dealing with economic headwinds at home. At the opening of the NPC last week, Chinese Premier Li Qiang’s work report announced a lowering of China’s GDP target to “4.5% to 5%”.
Economic concerns also underpin Beijing’s interest in ensuring economic relations with the U.S. remain on an even keel. Without naming the U.S., he said “a certain country is erecting tariff barriers and pushing economic and technological decoupling.”
Mr. Wang downplayed the idea of a China-U.S. “G2”, saying “there are more than 190 countries”, but added that “the relationship between China and the U.S. is one of far-reaching and global implications.” “Sliding into conflict or confrontation,” he said, “could drag the whole world down.”
Published – March 08, 2026 11:28 pm IST
