Chinese Leader Keeps Low Profile in Brief Meeting With Iranian President

Chinese President Xi Jinping held a brief meeting with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of a regional summit in Kyrgyzstan, avoiding public promotion of the exchange ahead of an upcoming meeting with United States President Donald Trump.

According to Iranian state media, the two leaders spoke for several minutes on Tuesday during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit. Iran’s semi-official Mehr News Agency reported that discussions centered on strengthening bilateral relations between Tehran and Beijing.

However, Chinese state news outlets completely omitted the discussion from their coverage. While prominent state publications like the People’s Daily highlighted Xi’s conversations with other attending heads of state, they made no mention of Pezeshkian. In contrast, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi publicly shared photographs of his own meeting with the Iranian leader at the summit.

Foreign affairs experts suggested the muted coverage reflects careful diplomatic positioning by Beijing. Han Shen Lin, managing director for Greater China at strategic advisory firm The Asia Group, observed that “Xi is keeping Iran at arm’s length publicly while still maintaining contact privately” to manage optics before his scheduled talks with Trump later this month.

China remains the primary purchaser of Iran’s sanctioned oil, though crude shipments moving through the Strait of Hormuz have dropped significantly since the war began, prompting Beijing to draw from its domestic reserves. Beijing has consistently sought an end to the regional conflict and the immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Alfredo Montufar-Helu, managing director at Ankura China Advisors, noted that “this is Beijing signaling some real dissatisfaction with Tehran” as Iran’s leadership has taken actions that conflict with Chinese goals.

During the summit, leaders of the 10-nation Shanghai Cooperation Organization issued a joint statement condemning military strikes on Iran and defending member states’ rights to develop peaceful nuclear energy under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The declaration did not commit the organization to financial or military assistance.

The diplomatic caution comes as trade tensions persist between Washington and Beijing. At a Group of 20 finance ministers’ meeting in Asheville, North Carolina, on Monday, United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urged nations to address Chinese manufacturing overcapacity and a trade surplus that reached $1.2 trillion last year.

Dan Wang, China director at Eurasia Group, anticipated that the war involving Iran will form a major part of the upcoming discussions between Xi and Trump, warning that potential U.S. sanctions against Chinese financial institutions could prompt a strong response from Beijing.

Background

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is a 10-member Eurasian political, economic, and security alliance whose members include China, Russia, India, and Iran. The summit took place amid heightened conflict in the Middle East that has disrupted international shipping corridors, including the Strait of Hormuz. Beijing’s diplomatic positioning comes as China and the United States prepare for high-level bilateral talks amid ongoing disputes over trade imbalances and global security concerns.