Xi Jinping Urges Hormuz Reopening In Rare Call With Saudi De Facto Ruler

China's President Xi Jinping broke his silence on the standoff over the Strait of Hormuz, using a rare call with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to urge the restoration of transit through the vital waterway and push for an end to hostilities in the Middle East.

"China calls for an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire, supports all efforts to restore peace and insists disputes be resolved through political and diplomatic means," Xi told the kingdom's de facto ruler by phone on Monday, according to a statement from the Chinese foreign ministry. "The Strait of Hormuz should remain open to normal transit, which is in the common interest of regional countries and the international community."

The Chinese leader made his most direct remarks yet on the conflict around the strait following a turbulent weekend in the Middle East that's clouded prospects for peace talks between the US and Iran. Control over Hormuz, which links the Persian Gulf to global markets, remains contentious, with a US naval blockade still in place and Iran keeping the strait effectively closed to all but its own oil shipments since the start of the war on Feb. 28.

The latest remarks - delivered during Xi's first call with the Saudi crown prince in over three years - also build on the Chinese president's first public comments on the Iran war, made last week during a meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. At the time, Xi warned that the international order is "crumbling into disarray" and pledged to play a constructive role in the Middle East.

Restoring free passage in the strait is a particular priority for China, the world's largest importer of liquefied natural gas through Hormuz. And despite the strides made in recent years to strengthen energy security and insulate its economy from global turmoil, Beijing still used to rely on the Middle East for about 40 per cent of its oil imports.

Photo Credit: Bloomberg

Unblocking the flow of goods through the Gulf is becoming more urgent for the world's biggest exporting nation, with the Middle East and North Africa accounting for about 7 per cent of its total sales abroad. Reflecting the disruption to trade in March, Chinese shipments to the region plummeted 43 per cent.

Iran announced it would reopen the strait on Friday in light of a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, causing oil prices to plunge. But it quickly reversed the decision after the US refused to lift its own blockade, and the US Navy then fired upon and boarded an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman.

The free passage of vessels through choke points like Hormuz and the Strait of Malacca is protected under principles laid out in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Xi also told Prince Mohammed that China supports Middle Eastern countries "taking their future and destiny into their own hands" - a message that amounted to a call for nations in the region to reconsider their dependence on the US for security.

The remarks employed language similar to that recently used by US President Donald Trump. At the onset of the war, he told the Iranian people that "now is the time to seize control of your destiny."

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