Xi also said China prioritises ties with Pakistan in neighbourhood diplomacy and called Sharif ” an old friend”, saying the two countries have forged an “unbreakable traditional friendship”.
That came as Islamabad’s key negotiator between the United States and Iran, army chief Asim Munir, was in Beijing alongside Sharif for talks with Chinese leaders, Pakistan television showed.
Munir arrived in Beijing after a Tehran trip on Friday and Saturday alongside Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi as part of ongoing mediation efforts to formally end the Iran war.
Sharif kicked off his four-day official visit to China in Hangzhou in Zhejiang on Saturday.
His meeting with Xi in Beijing followed talks earlier in the day with Premier Li Qiang.
Speaking to Chinese leaders in Beijing alongside Munir, Sharif said “the world is passing through a critical moment”, Pakistan television showed.
“Pakistan has played a sincere role to mediate between US and Iran,” he said in images carried by Pakistan’s state channel PTV.
“Things are moving in the right direction. I would like to thank China for its support to promote peace.”
The meeting came as Iran’s foreign ministry said Tehran was collecting fees for “navigational services” on ships transiting the strategic Strait of Hormuz, rather than imposing tolls.
“The services that are provided – navigational services in addition to the measures necessary to protect the environment of the Strait of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman – require the collection of certain fees,” said spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei in a weekly press briefing.
He added that Iran was “not seeking to collect tolls”.
Baqaei said Tehran and Washington had reached understandings on many issues in exchanges over a deal for ending the war but warned an agreement was not imminent.
“It is correct to say that we have reached a conclusion on a large portion of the issues under discussion,” he said.
“But to say that this means the signing of an agreement is imminent – no one can make such a claim,” he said, accusing Washington of shifting its positions. (Agencies & Xinhua)
