China said on Friday that U.S. “sanctions and pressure” wouldn’t resolve the Middle East conflict, after Washington urged governments including Beijing to join efforts to isolate Iran’s economy, writes CBS News.

“Sanctions and pressure will not help resolve the issue”, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters at a news briefing, calling on “all relevant parties to take responsible measures and resolve the problem through political and diplomatic means”.

President Trump threatened Iran with “economic D-Day” on Wednesday, vowing to wield “Economic Warfare and Isolation on an unprecedented scale”. Iran quickly dismissed the threat as a distraction and said it would backfire.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent underlined in an interview with CNBC on Thursday that Washington expects both allies and rivals to join the ramped-up campaign against Iran.

“This is going to be the greatest coordinated economic isolation in the history of the world. And we are going to them and saying you are either with us or against us”, he added in a message to allies. Asked whether the US would pressure China, Bessent said “many conversations are best to have in private”, but called on Beijing to “get with the program”.