Beijing expressed "gratitude" on Tuesday as it said three Chinese ships had transited the crucial Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has all but closed during the war in the Middle East.
"Following coordination with relevant parties, three Chinese vessels recently transited the Strait of Hormuz; we express our gratitude to the relevant parties for the assistance provided," foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a regular press conference.
Mao did not offer details about the Chinese ships.
Ship-tracking data showed two Chinese container ships sailed through the Strait of Hormuz on Monday on their second attempt to leave the Gulf after turning back on Friday.
The vessels sailed in close formation out of the strait and into open waters, data on the MarineTraffic platform showed.
"Both vessels successfully crossed on a second attempt today, marking the first container vessels to leave the Persian Gulf since the start of the conflict, excluding Iranian flag vessels," said Rebecca Gerdes, data analyst with Kpler, which owns MarineTraffic.
"Both vessels are steaming at an elevated speed toward the Gulf of Oman at the moment."
Officials from China's COSCO, the shipping group that operates the two vessels, did not respond to requests for comment. COSCO had said in a March 25 client advisory, that it had resumed bookings for general cargo containers for shipments from Asia to the Gulf including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Iraq.
Iran has launched attacks on Gulf shipping and threatened more, stranding hundreds of vessels and 20,000 seafarers inside the Gulf.
