{"id":28646,"date":"2019-12-31T14:54:11","date_gmt":"2019-12-31T14:54:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/12\/31\/china-iran-ministers-meet-criticize-bullying-practices\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T19:11:38","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T19:11:38","slug":"china-iran-ministers-meet-criticize-bullying-practices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2019\/12\/31\/china-iran-ministers-meet-criticize-bullying-practices\/","title":{"rendered":"China, Iran ministers meet, criticize \u2018bullying practices\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

BEIJING \u2014 China\u2019s foreign minister has decried international \u201cbullying practices\u201d while meeting with his Iranian counterpart Tuesday, in the country\u2019s latest criticism of American foreign policy under the Trump administration. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wang Yi<\/a> reaffirmed the strength of bilateral relations in opening remarks at the beginning of talks with Mohammad Javad Zarif<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Iranian minister\u2019s visit follows a trip to close ally Russia and comes just after the first-ever drills<\/a> among the navies of the three countries in the northern part of the Indian Ocean. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We need to stand together against unilateralism and bullying practices,” Wang said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Warships sail in the Sea of Oman during the second day of joint Iran, Russia and China naval war games as a military crew stands in a helicopter. Tehran has been seeking to step up military cooperation with Beijing and Moscow amid unprecedented economic sanctions from Washington. (Iranian Army via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

China was a signatory to the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and has strongly criticized the U.S. for abandoning it in favor of a campaign of heightened diplomatic and economic pressure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Without directly mentioning the U.S., Wang said China and Iran would stand up for their national interests as well as “uphold multilateralism and norms governing international relations.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zarif responded that the two countries were united in “our common effort to fight unilateralism and to promote multilateralism” in 2020. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2015 deal among Iran and Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States lifted sanctions on Iran in exchange for limits on its nuclear program. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The U.S. withdrew from the accord in 2018 and imposed crippling economic sanctions that block Iran from selling crude oil abroad. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since then, Tehran has slowly inched toward ceasing its own compliance with the terms of the deal, including launching new operations at a heavy water nuclear reactor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iran’s moves have been condemned by Western governments as unwelcome and escalating tensions in the region, while Russia and China have repeatedly blamed the U.S. China has also sharpened its rhetoric against Washington amid an ongoing trade war between the sides and U.S. criticism of China’s human rights record and policies in Hong Kong and the traditionally Muslim northwestern region of Xinjiang. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In this photo provided Friday by the Iranian Army, Chinese sailors wave while approaching to the Iran’s southeastern port city of Chahbahar, in the Gulf of Oman. Iran’s navy on Friday kicked off the first joint naval drill with Russia and China in the northern part of the Indian Ocean. (Iranian Army via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The four-day naval exercise, launched from the southeastern port city of Chahbahar in the Gulf of Oman on Friday, underscores the informal alliance among China, Iran and Russia in the face of Trump\u2019s moves to withdraw the U.S. from international agreements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At a daily briefing Tuesday afternoon, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said China would work to maintain the 2015 agreement and accused the U.S. of having “shirked its due international obligations, and imposed extreme pressure on Iran.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is the root cause of the current tension in the Iranian nuclear issue,\u201d Geng said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe hope that all participants in the agreement will adhere to the correct direction, withstand external pressures, resolve differences through dialogue and negotiation, and continue to maintain and implement the comprehensive agreement.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t