China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with Iran's Foreign Minister Araghchi, according to Xinhua

The read-through for oil has tended to run through the supply channel, specifically the volume of Iranian barrels reaching Chinese refiners and the degree of enforcement of US secondary sanctions, rather than through any headline itself. Past rounds of such talks have moved crude only when they signalled a shift in enforcement posture or a concrete step on the nuclear file; routine readouts without deliverables have generally faded within the session. The distinction worth drawing is between symbolism, which Beijing uses to position itself as an alternative diplomatic pole, and substance, which would show up in freight, insurance and dark-fleet activity around Iranian loadings. Follow-ons worth noting are any reference to sanctions, the nuclear track, or payment and settlement arrangements in the fuller readout, and whether the Iranian side carries the talks further with other parties. As a bare confirmation of talks, the signal is limited.