Sri Lanka, April 14 -- Chinese President Xi Jinping called for the world not to be allowed to "revert to the law of the jungle" in his most substantive comments to date on Middle East security since the US and Israeli attack on Iran plunged the region into conflict six weeks ago.

Xi - who has largely left China's response to the war in the Gulf to his diplomats - made the statement during a meeting with Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, during a meeting in Beijing on Tuesday.

The two sides exchanged views on the current situation in the Gulf, with Xi stressing China's position to promote peace and dialogue, while reiterating that it will "continue to play a constructive role," according to a readout from Chinese ...