China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi to discuss the Strait of Hormuz, amid mounting pressure on Iran to open the waterway for international shipping.
The talks come ahead of US President Donald Trump's planned trip to Beijing for talks with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.
China is a close partner of Iran and the biggest buyer of Tehran's crude oil, but the US has been urging China to tell Iran to lift its blockade of the Strait.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Iran's actions are causing the country to be "globally isolated" and that China is suffering from Iran's actions in the Strait.
