Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met with top Chinese leadership to discuss the Iran war and other concerns. Published On 15 Apr 202615 Apr 2026Chinese President Xi Jinping has met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and pressed for “closer and stronger strategic coordination” between Beijing and Moscow, according to state media.Xi met with Lavrov in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Wednesday, according to China’s Xinhua news agency, where he urged Russia and China to “firmly defend their legitimate interests and safeguard the unity of Global South countries”.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listThe Chinese leader also said the stability and certainty of China-Russia relations were particularly “precious” in an international landscape marked by change and chaos, The Associated Press news agency reported.While a Chinese readout of Xi’s remarks to the Russian minister did not explicitly mention the US-Israel war on Iran, his comments did appear to reference growing fears that the shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz could trigger a global food crisis as critical fertiliser and fuel exports are blocked from leaving the Gulf.The strait has been de facto shut down to most maritime traffic by Iran since shortly after the US and Israel launched their war on February 28, while the US military said on Tuesday that its forces have now completely blockaded all Iranian ports in a move designed to force Tehran to accept US conditions for a ceasefire.The shutdown of the strait is straining global energy supplies, as 20 percent of the world’s oil and gas exports transited the waterway before the war.Lavrov told a news conference after meeting Xi that Moscow could “compensate” for China’s energy shortages as shipping through the strait remains choked. Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, second fr …
