A drawn-out United States-Israeli conflict with Iran serves no one's interest. A ceasefire and dialogue are the only way out. China, which is deeply concerned about the continued escalation and spillovers that have dealt a blow to regional and international peace and stability, calls on the relevant parties to end the hostilities immediately and return to the track of peace and dialogue as soon as possible. In support of this call, the country has been making dedicated diplomatic efforts to stem the tide of war.

As part of these efforts, Foreign Minister Wang Yi had telephone talks with his Iranian counterpart Seyed Abbas Araghchi late on Tuesday, reiterating China's conviction that dialogue is always better than bloodshed and that all hot spot issues should be resolved through dialogue and negotiation, rather than through the use of force.

Araghchi stressed that Iran is committed to achieving a comprehensive end to the war, rather than merely a temporary ceasefire. On Wednesday, a spokesman for the Iranian armed forces declared that the "strategic power" touted by the US has turned into a "strategic failure", and admonishing: "Do not call your failure an agreement."

In his talks with Wang, Araghchi said that the Strait of Hormuz is open to all ships except those of the countries at war with Iran.

Zhai Jun, China's Middle East envoy, gave a news briefing on Monday following his shuttle diplomacy across the region. Rightly saying that the war should not have happened and that the US and Israel abruptly started the war by attacking Iran when negotiations were going on, Zhai stressed that the priority is preventing the spread and escalation of hostilities and realizing a ceasefire. "Once Pandora's box is opened, it will do huge damage. More fighting will produce no winner, only immense suffering for the people of the region," he said.

Any discussion on how to solve this crisis must be based on an understanding of the root cause and full picture of the conflict which seriously undermines security and stability in the Middle East, deals a heavy blow to the security of the global economy, energy and shipping lanes, and threatens the well-being of all countries.

The war had been initiated without the authorization of the United Nations Security Council and was a blatant breach of the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and international law. Under no circumstances should the red line of protecting civilians in military conflict be crossed; nor should nonmilitary targets such as energy, economic and livelihood facilities be attacked; nor should the security of the Strait of Hormuz and other international shipping lanes be undermined.

China's call for deescalation, a ceasefire and dialogue has come at a critical juncture.

On Monday, the US president made a sudden declaration of progress in talks with Iran to end the war, just before the deadline was about to run out on a 48-hour ultimatum he had made over the weekend, threatening to "obliterate" Iran's power plants unless the country releases its stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz.

Despite Tehran's repeated denials of any talks with the US, the US leader has continued to stick to his narrative that talks are ongoing, with reports emerging that the US has put forward a 15-point ceasefire plan to Iran. Yet, that message from Washington does not align with the military reality in the Middle East.

On the one hand, the war shows no sign of abating with barrages of fire exchanged across the region and more US forces being deployed to the region. On the other hand, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israel's troops control a large swath of southern Lebanon as part of their campaign against Hezbollah.

Without concrete signs of de-escalation, it is only natural that the voices of opposition to the war are growing louder. A latest poll found that the US administration's approval rating had fallen to its lowest point since January last year, down from 40 percent to 36 percent, hit by a surge in fuel prices and widespread disapproval of the Iran war.

Meanwhile, the transatlantic rift is widening too, with the US finding itself increasingly isolated. On Tuesday, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier delivered a rare and blunt rebuke, calling the Iran war a "disastrous mistake" and a clear violation of international law.

There is no military solution to this conflict. Only through dialogue and respect for international law can the Middle East achieve the peace and stability its people so desperately seek.

As a responsible major country, China will maintain close communication and coordination with the parties, work to help reduce the tension to pave the way for a ceasefire, build bridges for restarting dialogue, and make unremitting efforts for peace and stability in the Middle East. Like-minded countries should push the warring parties to pursue diplomacy to resolve their differences.