BEIJING, March 3 (Reuters) – Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar on Tuesday that China opposes Israeli and U.S. military strikes against Iran and demanded an immediate cessation of hostilities, according to China’s Foreign Ministry.
“Force cannot really solve problems. On the contrary, it often creates new problems and leaves serious long-term consequences. The real value of military power lies not in the battlefield, but in preventing war,” Wang Yi told Sall in a phone call.
Explosions rocked Tehran and Beirut on Tuesday and global financial markets fell on the prospect of a U.S.-Israeli air war against Iran that could disrupt global energy supplies for a long time.
Wang told Saar that China advocates resolving international and regional issues through dialogue and negotiation and will continue to play a constructive role in easing the situation.
Tuesday’s call follows three calls Monday by China’s top diplomat with his counterparts in Iran, Oman and France, in which he urged Gulf states to unite against external interference.
Wang Yi also spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Sunday about the Iran crisis.
However, Wang has not spoken to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio since Saturday’s U.S. and Israeli attack on Iran, in which Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was among those killed among a number of senior Iranian officials.
(Reporting by Shi Bu, Yukun Zhang and Ryan Woo; Editing by Aidan Lewis and Gareth Jones)
