US President Donald Trump told AFP on Thursday that he believes China got Iran to negotiate a ceasefire in the war against Israel and the United States.

Citing three Iranian officials, The New York Times also said Iran accepted the Pakistani-mediated ceasefire following a last-minute intervention by China, which asked Iran “to show flexibility and defuse tensions” amid concern of economic fallout.

The Chinese foreign ministry said on Wednesday that it welcomed the ceasefire, adding that China had made its own efforts towards realising lasting peace in the Middle East.

"China has consistently advocated for an immediate ceasefire and cessation of hostilities, as well as the resolution of disputes through political and diplomatic channels," ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said.

She did not detail what China's efforts were when asked at a regular news briefing.

Trump is expected to travel to Beijing in mid-May to meet Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, in a crucial summit between the two superpowers. The trip was originally scheduled for early April, but Trump postponed it, saying he had to stay in Washington to oversee the Iran war.

Trump’s announcement of the ceasefire overnight came some 90 minutes before the deadline he had set for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz. He had threatened to destroy Iran’s bridges and power plants if it failed to open the vital waterway, and said as the deadline neared that “a whole civilization will die tonight.”

Iran has launched missile and drone strikes across the region and effectively blockaded the Strait of Hormuz after the US and Israel launched a bombing campaign on the Islamic Republic on February 28 in a bid to destabilize its regime and destroy its ballistic missile and nuclear programs.