The talks in the Chinese capital of Beijing come amid heightened Middle East tension after an Iranian official said the country would treat any attack "as an all-out war against us".

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Those comments followed U.S. President Donald Trump's remark the previous day that the United States had an "armada" heading toward Iran, adding it was "just in case", warning Iran not to kill protesters or restart its nuclear program.



An Iranian official in the region said on Sunday at least 5,000 were killed after a wave of protest over economic hardship.

In Monday's talks, Foreign Minister Wang Yi called for the building of a regional security partnership and the political settlement of hot-spot issues, the ministry said.

U.S. officials had said an aircraft carrier and several guided-missile destroyers would arrive in the Middle East in the coming days.