Chinese diplomat Wang Yi contacted his Iranian counterpart to secure guarantees for the free and safe passage of international shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. The call was made amid escalating global energy concerns stemming from US blockades and regional tensions.

China’s top diplomat Wang Yi sought guarantees of freedom and safety of international navigation through the Strait of Hormuz in a phone call with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, on Wednesday. The call marked Beijing’s latest diplomacy effort on the Iran war as a US naval blockade of Iranian ports intensifies global energy disruptions and adds uncertainty in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway off Iran’s coast that Tehran effectively closed in response to US-Israeli strikes. “The....