State media reported that Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Beijing on Monday, as part of ongoing diplomatic efforts to end the war in Iran.
China’s official Xinhua news agency reported that Sharif’s meeting with Xi took place after talks he held earlier the same day with Premier Li Qiang, the country’s second-highest-ranking official.
Sources told Al Arabiya/Al Hadath that Pakistan’s army chief joined the Prime Minister in his meeting with the Chinese Premier, and that Islamabad is insisting that Beijing serve as the guarantor in any agreement between the United States and Iran.
Pakistan’s army chief, Asim Munir, the chief negotiator in the talks between the United States and Iran, arrived in China together with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to meet with Chinese diplomats, Pakistani television reported on Monday.
China expressed its intention to cooperate with Pakistan "in order to contribute positively to restoring peace and stability in the Middle East at the earliest opportunity."
Last month, The Telegraph reported that since the outbreak of the war, four ships from China have arrived in Iran carrying precursor materials used to manufacture solid fuel for missile engines.
According to the report, the vessels departed from the Gaolan port in Zhuhai, a hub that houses some of China’s largest liquid chemical storage facilities.
Experts estimate the shipments may have included enough sodium perchlorate to enable the production of hundreds of ballistic missiles. However, it remains unclear whether Iran currently has the capacity to manufacture such weapons following recent strikes on its facilities by the United States and Israel.