Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Monday as part of diplomatic efforts to officially end the ongoing Iran war. According to state media Xinhua, Sharif also had a discussion earleir in the day with Prime Minister Li Qiang. Pakistan’s Army Chief Asim Munir, who is also acting as Islamabad’s key negotiator between the United States and Iran, accompanied Sharif to the visit.
Pakistan’s state-run PTV channel showed Sharif speaking to Chinese leaders in Beijing, noting “the world is passing through a critical moment”.
“Pakistan has played a sincere role to mediate between U.S and Iran. Field marshal was in Tehran and did not want to miss this great visit,” said Sharif “Things are moving in the right direction. I would like to thank China’s support to promote peace.”
Sharif had arrived for his four-day official visit on Saturday while Munir had high-level talks in Tehran on Friday and Saturday alongside Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi.
China has stated that it would work with Pakistan to “make positive contributions to the early restoration of peace and stability in the Middle East”.
Pakistan is currently the central mediator between the United States and Iran. It hosted the only direct negotiations between the two countries in April since the war began on February 28. However, the talks failed to yield the desired results, with Iran accusing the United States of making “excessive demands”.
A second round of direct negotiations were planned later that month but escalated tensions in the Strait of Hormuz prevented the talks from materialising.
China hosted U.S President Donald Trump in May, where a discussion on Iran was on the agenda. Beijing also led phone calls and meetings with officials of Gulf countries, which were affected by Iran’s retaliation on U.S bases in their territories.
