BEIJING — Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing on March 31, with the two sides vowing to strengthen strategic communication and coordination to help broker a deal to end the war in Iran. The pledge came as the conflict, which began with a U.S. and Israeli military operation against Iran on Feb. 28, continued to disrupt global trade and energy shipments.

Dar reiterated the call for Iran and the United States to work toward ending the war and said that Islamabad had been serving as a conduit for message exchanges between Washington and Tehran on March 26. "Pakistan is very happy that both Iran and the US have expressed their confidence in Pakistan to facilitate their talks," Dar said in a televised briefing after the talks.

Two days before the Beijing meeting, on March 29, Dar hosted foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Egypt in Islamabad to build consensus around a cease-fire and renewed negotiations. Pakistani officials said the initiative centers on five principles, including civilian protection and maritime security.

Pakistan is leveraging its working ties with U.S. President Donald Trump and longstanding bonds with Iran in its efforts to broker peace. China and Pakistan aim to avoid direct entanglement in the widening Iran conflict while coordinating diplomatically.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said both sides agreed to pursue de-escalation and would jointly advocate for peace and justice and make new efforts to promote reconciliation and prevent conflict. Mao said that Beijing appreciates Pakistan's efforts.

Alicia Garcia-Herrero, chief economist for Asia Pacific at Natixis, said, "By publicly pledging to strengthen cooperation with Islamabad on Iran, China is in a way moderating the conflict indirectly and amplifying the voice of Pakistan, which is clearly a trusted ally." Garcia-Herrero added, "Pakistan is used as a way to give China influence without seeing China in the cease-fire talks."

Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has slowed sharply since Feb. 28, resulting in vessel delays and constraints on exports from Gulf producers. China confirmed that several of its ships recently transited the strait following coordination with relevant parties. MarineTraffic data showed two COSCO vessels passed through the strait on March 30 after aborting earlier attempts.

Iran indicated that the Strait of Hormuz remains open to friendly countries, which is widely interpreted to include China. China relies heavily on Middle Eastern energy, particularly seaborne exports through the strait. According to Kpler, Chinese refineries had stockpiled between 1.2 and 1.4 billion barrels of oil as of the end of 2025, which could last up to three months.

Iran has repeatedly denied it is in talks with the United States.