Alwaght-Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Wednesday Beijing hopes Iran and Saudi Arabia can resolve their differences through talks, ahead of a visit by the Saudi king to China.
"We hope that Saudi Arabia and Iran can resolve the problems that exist between them via equal and friendly consultations," Wang said at his annual news conference on the sidelines of parliament.
"China is friends with both Saudi Arabia and Iran. If there is a need, China is willing to play our necessary role," he added, without elaborating.
Top Chinese diplomat said China welcomes Saudi Arabia's King Salman's visit to China, which would take place from March 15-18.
King Salman began a month-long Asian tour to six west Asian countries, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Japan, China, and the Maldives, to build ties with the world's fastest growing importers of Saudi oil and promote investment opportunities.
King of Saudi Arabia is set to pay a 9-day visit to Indonesia after he ends his 4-day visit to Malaysia, another southeastern Asian country.
Saudi king Salman Abudlaziz Al Saud arrived in Malaysia on 26 February along with his 600-strong entourage, and left there for Indonesia on 1 March for a 9-day state visit and vacation.
The Saudi monarch was accompanied by an entourage of 1,500 princes, royal family members and cabinet members, boarding four Boeing B747-400 and 200, two Boeing B777, and two C-130 Hercules aircraft, which will also carry 459 tons of cargo containing equipment belonging to Saudi Arabian King and his entourage.
Among the special cargo were two units of Mercedes-Benz S600, which arrived in Denpasar on Feb. 18, one electric lift that arrived in Halim on Feb. 21, another electric lift that arrived in Denpasar on Feb. 22 along with other equipment.
Saudi monarch's outrageously expensive vacation comes while Saudi Arabia is facing a 100 million dollar budget deficit, resulting from plunging oil prices. The regime's single-income, oil-based economy also is bearing the brunt of the costs of the aggression against the neighboring Yemen.
Late on march 2015, Saudi regime launched a bloody aggression on its southern neighbor, Yemen, in a bid to restore power to Riyadh puppet, Masour Hadi who resigned as president and fled to Saudi Arabia, as well as to undermine Ansarullah movement whom Saudi Wahhabi leaders consider as a threat to their interests in Yemen where once was considered as Al Saud's Backyard.
The almost 2-year aggression has claimed lives of over 12,000 Yemenis and has inflicted heavy blows to Yemen's infrastructures.
