Ongoing peace talks between the US and Iran are casting doubt on whether Donald Trump will proceed with a planned visit to Beijing. Chinese observers suggest that if the visit does occur, regional instability could heighten the diplomatic importance of the trip.

The on-again, off-again US-Iran peace talks are casting doubt on whether Donald Trump will make his planned visit to Beijing in a few weeks, though the war could raise the diplomatic stakes of the trip if it does go ahead, Chinese observers say. Hours before a two-week ceasefire was set to end, the US president announced on Tuesday that he was prolonging the fragile truce with Iran. That came after Vice-President J.D. Vance’s trip to Pakistan for a second round of peace negotiations was first...