China Condemns War in the Middle East: The World Cannot Return to the Law of the Jungle

Foreign Minister Wang Yi condemned the war in the Middle East and urged the United States to resolve its differences with Beijing. He said the war sparked by the US and Israel’s attacks on Iran should never have happened. The remarks were delivered by the top Chinese diplomat at a press conference in Beijing, reported by AFP on Sunday (8 March 2026). Wang Yi said the war triggered by the US and Israel’s strike against Iran ‘should never have happened’. ‘A strong fist does not justify a strong reason. The world cannot return to the law of the jungle,’ Wang Yi said. The statement was made during China’s annual political meetings this week, known as the ‘Two Sessions’. The parallel sessions of parliament and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference are closely watched for clues about the priorities of the country’s top leaders, amid a tense geopolitical landscape. Wang Yi touched on a range of issues, including the US-China trade war, regional tensions in the South China Sea, as well as the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine. ‘This year is indeed an important year for Sino-US relations,’ Wang said. US-China relations: The relationship between China and the United States has been tense since US President Donald Trump returned to the White House last year. The tensions were accompanied by a trade war that led the two countries to impose reciprocal tariffs on each other. ‘We have observed some countries erect tariff barriers and pursue decoupling and supply-chain disruptions,’ Wang said on Sunday. ‘These actions are like trying to put out a fire with fuel. In the end, the actions will backfire and harm themselves,’ he added. Although China and the United States ‘cannot change each other’, he said, ‘we can change how we interact with each other’. Wang urged both sides to ‘create the right environment, manage the differences, and remove unnecessary interference’. Yet there remain a number of disagreements. China condemned the US and Israel’s military strikes against Iran, which have diplomatic and trade ties with it. Specifically, China condemned the killing of the country’s top leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Wang Yi also emphasised that China’s relationship with Moscow, which has been criticised by Western countries for backing the war in Ukraine, remains ‘solid and unshakeable’.