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Carol Yang

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China and Jordan have called for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to shipping and for the ceasefire between the United States and Iran to be maintained, in a joint statement issued during King Abdullah’s visit to Beijing.
They also said they wanted to see “a comprehensive solution addressing the root causes of tension … through dialogue and negotiation, ensuring full respect for the sovereignty, security and territorial integrity of regional countries”.
Peace talks between the US and Iran have stalled and the strait, which was described in the statement as a “vital channel for international commerce and the energy trade”, remains closed to most shipping.
The statement, issued after the king’s meeting with President Xi Jinping and other top officials on Monday, called for the “restoration of normal transit through the strait”.
The two sides also criticised Israel’s “dangerous escalatory actions” in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, according to state news agency Xinhua.
They expressed “deep concern” over Israeli activities that included “land confiscation, the construction and expansion of settlements, and attempts to alter the historic and legal status quo of Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem”.
“Both sides emphasised that all illegal measures aimed at annexing parts or all of the occupied West Bank territory are null and void, holding that such acts violate international law and UN resolutions,” the statement said.
Recently, Israel opened tenders for roughly 1,200 settlement homes east of Jerusalem, drawing sharp international condemnation for what was widely seen as an effort to further divide the West Bank and block a future Palestinian state.
Jordan has also warned of an “imminent” threat that Israel will take over Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque, the city’s holiest Muslim site, after around 2,000 rightwingers, many of them settlers, stormed the site last month.
During the meeting, Xi vowed to deepen collaboration with Jordan across core sectors, including trade, infrastructure and mining. He added that this could expand into areas such as the digital economy, artificial intelligence and green energy.
Meanwhile, the Jordanian ruler pledged to expand cooperation in science and technology, welcomed further investment from Chinese enterprises and commended Beijing’s “just stance” on Middle Eastern affairs, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.
The two countries also signed multiple cooperation agreements spanning diplomacy, judicial affairs, trade, and industrial and supply chains. They also pledged to deepen their strategic partnership following the meeting.
The monarch’s trip to China takes place as Jordan is in the crossfire of the US war on Iran. Despite Amman’s official neutrality, military bases in the kingdom hosting US forces have been frequently targeted by Iranian forces.
Monday’s meeting came hours before Washington was set to announce what US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has described as the “toughest” sanctions against Iran in history.
There has been an international push to de-escalate the conflict, which continues to unsettle the Middle East and the global energy market. However, six months after the war began, hopes for a diplomatic breakthrough have faded.


Last week, Beijing hosted Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, who briefed the Chinese side about the latest developments in the Gulf during a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Miao Deyu. According to the Chinese foreign ministry, which announced the meeting on Sunday, Miao reaffirmed China’s commitment to “proactively promoting peace and encouraging talks”.
On Sunday, Jordan hosted a high-level meeting between Syria and Israel to achieve “de-escalation” following Israeli strikes on Syrian territory, the state-owned Syrian Arab News Agency reported, citing a diplomatic source.
Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah was also in Beijing on Monday as part of a two-day visit at the invitation of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
The small Gulf state is separated from mainland Iran by a narrow strip of Iraqi coastline and has been hit hard by Iranian missiles and drones since the war began.
It hosts several major US military bases, including Camp Arifjan, the logistics, supply and command hub for operations in the Middle East.
Meanwhile, Jordan – geographically wedged between Israel, the West Bank, Syria and Iraq – has had to strike a delicate balance between volatile regional dynamics and competing international powers.
Long dependent on US military backing and financial aid, Jordan faces rising pressure from Iranian strikes and overseas aid cuts under the administration of US President Donald Trump.
While remaining within the US security orbit, Jordan has sought to diversify its partnerships with other nations and strengthen the economy by deepening ties with China.
The week-long trip, which started on Tuesday and ended on Monday, was Abdullah’s ninth visit to China since he succeeded his father 27 years ago.
During the trip, Abdullah visited Shanghai and Shenzhen – two major hubs for artificial intelligence and robotics – before travelling to the Chinese capital.
Speaking to Xinhua before his trip, he highlighted China’s “important role in safeguarding international peace and security”.
In the interview, the king spoke of Jordan’s push for a two-state solution that would establish an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel.
He said Amman sought to coordinate with China as a key global player to “use its considerable influence and voice on the international stage to help push for the realisation of the two-state solution”.
Roughly half of the kingdom’s population is of Palestinian origin.
Abdullah also said that deepening China-Arab ties reflected mutual interest in shared development and cooperation and that China had been a key partner in the kingdom’s public sector through training programmes, as well as advancing the country’s energy diversification and self-sufficiency via investments.
Traditionally reliant on imported natural gas, Jordan has aggressively pivoted to renewables. King Abdullah told Xinhua that green power had surged from under 1 per cent of the kingdom’s electricity grid a decade ago to 27 per cent today, with a target of 40 per cent by 2035.


As a global leader in green tech, China has driven much of this transformation. Over the past decade, nearly 89 per cent of Beijing’s US$3.56 billion investment in the kingdom went to the energy sector, according to the official Jordan News Agency.
Trade between the two nations has expanded in tandem, making China Jordan’s biggest trading partner in 2025.
Chinese exports to the kingdom – mainly machinery, textiles and vehicles – reached US$6.29 billion. In contrast, Jordanian sales to China totalled US$430 million, concentrated in raw materials such as potash, phosphate, fertilisers and copper.


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The two sides also criticised Israel’s ‘dangerous escalatory actions’ following King Abdullah’s meeting with Xi Jinping in Beijing


The two sides also criticised Israel’s ‘dangerous escalatory actions’ following King Abdullah’s meeting with Xi Jinping in Beijing.


China and Jordan call for Strait of Hormuz to get back to normal after US-Iran conflict

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The two sides also criticised Israel’s ‘dangerous escalatory actions’ following King Abdullah’s meeting with Xi Jinping in Beijing

The two sides also criticised Israel’s ‘dangerous escalatory actions’ following King Abdullah’s meeting with Xi Jinping in Beijing