Xi Calls Saudi Crown Prince as Hormuz Crisis Deepens — Beijing Pushes for Peace While Washington and Tehran Trade Blows
Chinese President Xi Jinping called Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Monday, urging that the Strait of Hormuz be kept open for international shipping. The call came as the U.S.-Iran ceasefire faced its most serious test yet — just hours after the U.S. Navy seized an Iranian cargo vessel, and with new peace talks in Pakistan hanging by a thread.
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A Diplomatic Phone Call at a Dangerous Moment
On Monday, April 20, Xi Jinping reached out to Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (widely known as MBS) in what Beijing is presenting as a peace initiative. According to China's state news agency Xinhua, Xi called for the Strait of Hormuz to remain open to normal vessel traffic, describing this as a shared interest of both the region and the broader international community.
The timing was anything but routine. Within the past 48 hours, the fragile ceasefire between the United States and Iran had come under severe strain — and the waterway at the center of this crisis was once again effectively closed.
What Triggered the Crisis: The USS Spruance and the Touska
On Sunday, the U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance intercepted and seized the Iranian-flagged cargo ship Touska in the Gulf of Oman. According to President Trump, the vessel — over 900 feet in length and under U.S. sanctions — had attempted to bypass the American naval blockade that has been in force since April 13.
After the crew refused to stop, U.S. forces fired on the ship's engine room, disabling it and taking it into custody. Trump announced the seizure on his Truth Social platform, calling it a direct response to Iranian ceasefire violations.
Iran's military command condemned the action as "armed piracy" and threatened retaliation. Tehran's parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf summed up Iran's position bluntly: as long as Iranian vessels are blocked, no other ships will pass through the strait freely either.
The Strait: A Chokepoint the World Cannot Afford to Lose
The Strait of Hormuz — a narrow passage between Iran and Oman — is one of the most strategically critical waterways on the planet. Approximately one-fifth of the world's oil supply passes through it every day. When Iran reimposed its traffic restrictions on Saturday, oil prices responded immediately, with Brent crude jumping around 7% to nearly $97 a barrel in a single session.
No tankers moved through the strait on Sunday, according to ship tracking data. The shipping paralysis has stranded hundreds of vessels in the Gulf region and driven freight costs sharply higher — a crisis we have covered in depth in our previous reporting.
Xi's Message to Riyadh — and the World
In his call with MBS, Xi framed China's position in straightforward terms: Beijing supports an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire, wants all disputes settled through diplomacy rather than force, and insists the strait must remain open.
This was not China's first move this week. On the Friday prior, Xi had hosted the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi in Beijing, calling on all parties to respect international law. Beijing has been running an intensive regional diplomatic campaign, positioning itself as the responsible adult in a room full of escalating tensions.
President Trump himself had acknowledged China's role in bringing Iran to the negotiating table earlier this month in Islamabad — a rare moment of public credit given to Beijing by the current U.S. administration.
The Ceasefire Is Expiring — and Nobody Agrees on What Happens Next
The two-week U.S.-Iran ceasefire is set to expire on Wednesday. A second round of peace talks in Islamabad is technically scheduled, with U.S. Vice President JD Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner expected to lead the American delegation.
But whether Iran will actually show up remains deeply uncertain. Iran's state news agency IRNA has said there is no clear prospect for talks under current conditions, pointing to Washington's naval blockade — which Tehran views as a ceasefire violation in itself. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian stated over the weekend that Iran would not negotiate under military pressure, while warning that conflict would resume if the ceasefire collapsed.
Trump, for his part, issued stark warnings on Truth Social: if Iran does not accept a deal, the United States would destroy every power plant and bridge in the country. "NO MORE MR. NICE GUY," he wrote. Whatever one thinks of the rhetorical style, the message was clear.
Beijing's Interests — and Its Contradictions
China's public call for peace and open shipping lanes is genuine in one very concrete sense: Beijing is Iran's largest oil customer. With Iranian crude flowing to China even during the conflict, any permanent closure of the strait — or an intensification of U.S. sanctions enforcement — directly threatens Chinese energy security and trade routes.
The CCP's position is also entangled in the wider hypocrisy that has defined its Iran policy throughout this conflict. While Xi publicly calls for ceasefire and diplomacy, Chinese-made military components have been found inside Iranian weapons — including mines used in the very strait Beijing now says must stay open. Our previous reporting on the CETC military chip found inside an Iranian mine laid out this contradiction in detail.
Beijing wants the strait open. It wants the war to end. But it also wants Iran dependent, weakened, and indebted to Chinese diplomacy — and that balancing act grows harder to maintain with every new escalation.
What Comes Next
The next 72 hours are critical. The ceasefire expires Wednesday. If a second round of Islamabad talks fails to produce even a framework agreement, the U.S. and Iran may find themselves back at full-scale hostilities — with the world's most important oil passage caught in the middle.
Xi's call to MBS suggests China is working the phones to prevent that outcome. Saudi Arabia, as both a major oil producer and a regional heavyweight with ties to both Washington and Tehran, is a logical interlocutor.
Whether words — from Beijing or anywhere else — are enough to hold the line is a question that will be answered very soon.
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Sources:
- Reuters – Xi-MBS phone call, April 20, 2026: https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinas-xi-call-with-saudi-crown-prince-calls-strait-hormuz-remain-open-2026-04-20/
- NPR – U.S. seizes Iranian cargo ship in Strait of Hormuz: https://www.npr.org/2026/04/19/nx-s1-5790378/iran-us-hormuz-closed-impossible
- TIME – U.S. seized Iranian ship, Trump threatens Iran: https://time.com/article/2026/04/19/trump-accuses-iran-of-total-violation-as-strait-of-hormuz-remains-shut/
- NBC News – Ceasefire strain, Vance to Islamabad: https://www.nbcnews.com/world/iran/iran-distance-peace-deal-hormuz-closure-halts-shipping-rcna340846
- Al Jazeera – Iran vows retaliation after Touska seizure: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/4/19/trump-says-us-seized-iran-flagged-ship-trying-to-get-past-hormuz-blockade
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