BEIJING (AP) 鈥 Chinese leader Xi Jinping expressed support for Iran during a visit Tuesday by its president as Tehran tries to expand relations with Beijing and Moscow to offset Western sanctions over its nuclear development.
The official Chinese account of Xi鈥檚 meeting with Ebrahim Raisi gave no indication whether they discussed Russia鈥檚 attack on Ukraine. Tehran President Vladimir Putin's government but says they were delivered before the war began.
Xi expressed support for Raisi鈥檚 government in language Beijing uses to criticize Washington鈥檚 domination of global affairs. China and Iran portray themselves, alongside Moscow, as counterweights to American power.
鈥淐hina supports Iran in safeguarding national sovereignty鈥 and 鈥渞esisting unilateralism and bullying,鈥 Xi said in a statement carried by Chinese state TV on its website.
Xi and Raisi attended the signing of 20 cooperation agreements including trade and tourism, the Chinese government announced. Those add to a 25-year strategy agreement signed in 2021 to cooperate in developing oil, industry and other fields.
China is one of the biggest buyers of Iranian oil and a source of investment.
Iran has struggled for years under and other Western governments over what they say is Tehran鈥檚 efforts to develop nuclear weapons, an accusation the Iranian government denies. The United States government cut off Iran鈥檚 access to the network that connects global banks in 2018.
U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price urged China to influence Iran and lower potential threats in the region, saying that 鈥渨ould be in both of our interests.鈥
鈥淭he PRC has a role to play in very clearly signaling to Iran that its destabilizing activities 鈥 that its brinksmanship 鈥 is not going to be rewarded, it鈥檚 not going to be countenanced. It is not something that the international community is prepared to sit idly by and watch,鈥 Price said Tuesday to reporters in Washington, referring to China by its official name, the People鈥檚 Republic of China.
Xi said Beijing 鈥渙pposes external forces interfering in Iran鈥檚 internal affairs and undermining Iran鈥檚 security and stability,鈥 according to the government statement. It said Xi promised to 鈥渨ork together on issues involving each other鈥檚 core interests,鈥 but gave no details.
Raisi鈥檚 government didn鈥檛 immediately release details of the meeting, but the president called the two governments 鈥渇riends in difficult situations鈥 in a commentary published Monday by the ruling Communist Party newspaper People鈥檚 Daily.
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, asked whether Beijing was concerned that getting closer to Iran might complicate U.S.-Chinese ties, said their 鈥渇riend relations鈥 contribute to 鈥減romotion of peace and stability in the Middle East.鈥
鈥淥ur relations do not target any third parties,鈥 said the spokesperson, Wang Wenbin.
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AP diplomacy writer Matt Lee in Washington, D.C., contributed.
