China calls for peace talks in Iran war — FM and defense ministry both urge cessation of military action

At a regular press briefing in Beijing on 26 March 2026, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian called for all parties to 'create conditions for starting truly meaningful and sincere peace talks' and said 'the pressing priority is to actively promote peace talks, seize the opportunity of peace and promote the cessation of the war.' The comments came in response to a question about whether China was aware of any ongoing US-Iran negotiations. Separately, Chinese defense ministry spokesperson Jiang Bin urged all parties to stop military action and called for efforts to resolve the conflict through dialogue and to avoid escalation. The coordinated statements from both the foreign ministry and defense ministry represent a more active Chinese diplomatic position, coming as the US-Israel-Iran conflict enters its fourth week and pressure grows on all sides to find an off-ramp.