China Rips Trump’s Iran Attack in First Comment Since US Hit

v5orelrxx}g9ngaj1}4(phqh_media_dl_1.png Bloomberg News analysis of US En

Article content

(Bloomberg) — China criticized the US strike on Iranian nuclear facilities and reiterated that it’s willing to join international efforts to restore peace in the Middle East.

Article content

Beijing “strongly” condemns the attacks on Iran, according to a four-sentence statement from the Foreign Ministry on Sunday.

Article content

Article content

“The US move seriously violates the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and international law and exacerbates tensions in the Middle East,” it said. “China calls on all parties to the conflict, especially Israel, to cease fire as soon as possible.”

Article content

Article content

Follow The Big Take daily podcast wherever you listen.

Article content

Article content

On Monday, the state-run Global Times added to the criticism, saying the US’s use of bunker-buster bombs would push “the Iran-Israel conflict closer toward an uncontrollable state.”

Article content

President Donald Trump said American bombers struck Iran’s three main nuclear sites and threatened more attacks if Tehran doesn’t capitulate, pulling the US directly into the country’s conflict with Israel despite his longtime promises to avoid new wars. 

Article content

Beijing hasn’t yet offered substantial assistance to Tehran besides rhetorical support. President Xi Jinping last week outlined a four-point proposal for the Iran-Israel war in a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

Article content

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on China to speak to leaders in Iran about not closing the Strait of Hormuz — the waterway at the entrance to the Persian Gulf where about a fifth of the world’s crude output passes through.

Article content

“I encourage the Chinese government in Beijing to call them about that because they heavily depend on the Straits of Hormuz for their oil,” he told Fox News.

Article content

Article content

China is the nation most dependent on oil passing through the strait, where a third of its crude transits. Tehran could seek to retaliate for the US attack by trying to close the chokepoint. Iran’s parliament has called for closing the waterway, according to Iranian state-run TV — a move that would need the explicit approval of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to proceed.

Article content

Beijing on Monday repeated a call for de-escalation, linking regional stability to global economic development. 

Article content

“Maintaining security and stability in the region is in the common interests of the international community,” Guo Jiakun, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said at a regular press briefing.

Article content

Economists largely downplayed the immediate economic fallout for China from higher crude prices. They point to Beijing’s decades-long push into renewable energy, its strategic oil reserves and the option to source from sellers like Russia. However, some did warn of potential disruptions if global shipments were affected over a longer term.

Article content

Michelle Lam, Greater China economist at Societe Generale SA, estimates China’s gross domestic product could be reduced by 0.4 to 1.2 percentage points if oil prices were to surge 40% to $100 a barrel.