The US secretary of state called upon China to take “a more active role” in ending the Iran war, despite President Donald Trump earlier saying he did not need Beijing’s help.

Marco Rubio told Fox News that the crisis was a “huge source of instability” and resolving it was in China’s interests.

Beijing may have a different perspective: Chinese companies have been discussing selling weapons to Iran, The New York Times reported, while US intelligence analysis seen by The Washington Post suggests that China is trying to use the Iran war to gain advantages over the US, as the conflict degrades American geopolitical clout.

“For China, time remains a strategic advantage,” a leading energy analyst wrote in a Semafor column.