China and Russia are both permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, along with France and Britain, that took part in the original 2015 Iran nuclear deal preliminary framework agreement. Trump withdrew America from the accord in 2018, setting in motion years of tensions in the wider Middle East.

China and Russia stood by Iran on Friday after the United States demanded nuclear talks with Tehran, with senior Chinese and Russian diplomats saying dialogue should only resume based on "mutual respect" and all sanctions ought to be lifted.

China and Russia joined Iran in denouncing US sanctions and backed efforts to restore a landmark nuclear deal with Tehran that President Donald Trump abandoned in his first term and now wants to replace.

China said on Wednesday that the U.S. has undermined bilateral counter-narcotics cooperation by imposing tariffs on Chinese goods over fentanyl, calling on Washington to stop using the issue as a bargaining chip to "blackmail" the country.

President Donald Trump’s executive order imposing an across-the-board 10% tariff on all US imports from China went into effect. A month later, he doubled it to 20%.

Officials from China’s Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of Public Security said in a briefing the country has achieved success in controlling the drugs and done all it can for the U.S.