https://bbc.com/news/world-asia-china
There are hopes China could tap into its close relationship with Iran, which backs Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, to de-escalate the situation. US officials apparently pressed Mr Wang to "urge calm" with the Iranians, reported the Financial Times.
China is Iran's biggest trade partner, and earlier this year Beijing brokered a rare détente between Iran and Saudi Arabia. Tehran says it "stands ready to strengthen communication with China" on resolving the situation in Gaza.
As the Chinese government has had a relatively balanced relationship with all actors in the conflict, they could be perceived as an honest broker, said Dawn Murphy, an associate professor who studies Chinese foreign policy at the National War College under the US Department of Defense.
China faces a difficult balancing act because it has long openly sympathised with the Palestinian cause.
It stretches back to Chinese Communist Party founder Mao Zedong, who sent weapons to Palestinians in support for so-called "national liberation" movements around the world. Mao even compared Israel to Taiwan - both backed by the US - as bases of Western imperialism.
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