Top diplomats of Belgium, Australia set to visit China amid Mideast crisis

The trips by Belgium’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong come at the invitation of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Prevot is set to visit China on April 27-May 1, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.

In a separate statement, the ministry said Wong is scheduled to visit China on April 28-30.

The foreign ministers' visits to Beijing comes at a time when a ceasefire between Washington and Tehran continues with no current agreement on an end to the war.

The conflict, initiated by the US and Israel on Feb. 28, has left Asian nations struggling to import oil from the Middle East as Tehran and Washington have blocked the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway through which some 20% of global energy supplies flow.