China urges US, Iran to engage in talks over use of military force

China said on Wednesday that the use of military force was "not appropriate" and urged the US and Iran to engage in talks amid retaliatory airstrikes by both sides.

“Reigniting the flames of war does not serve anyone’s interests,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters in Beijing.

The statement came after the US military said it had carried out a new wave of strikes against Iran, hitting more than 80 targets in response to Iranian attacks on commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

The US Central Command said the strikes were conducted "in immediate response to Iranian attacks on commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz."

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it had launched a missile and drone operation targeting 85 US military sites, including Salman Port, the headquarters of the US Navy's Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, and Ali Al-Salem Air Base in Kuwait, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.

However, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao said: “Military measures are not appropriate.”

“We urge the two sides to settle the dispute through negotiations, carry on with (Islamabad) Memorandum of Understanding and avoid resorting to force,” said Mao, referring to the pact signed by Iranian and US presidents last month, which set a 60-day period of negotiations for the two sides to finalize a deal to permanently end the war.