There are Chinese nationals aboard the vessel, but no reported crew casualties so far, ​foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said during a regular news ​conference.

Chinese media Caixin reported on Thursday that a Chinese-owned oil ⁠products tanker marked “CHINA OWNER & CREW” was attacked near the Strait of ​Hormuz on Monday.

The attack happened before a meeting between China’s foreign minister, ​Wang Yi, and his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, in Beijing on Wednesday, when they discussed reopening the strait.

China has remained a major buyer of Iranian oil since ​the outbreak of the Iran war, with its imports from Iran ​largely unaffected in March.

The attacked vessel has not been officially identified.

Maritime security sources said the damaged ‌vessel ⁠was believed to be the Marshall Islands-flagged oil products and chemical tanker JV Innovation, which reported a fire on deck to nearby ships on Monday.

The incident occurred off the coast of the United Arab Emirates ​in the Gulf, ​near Mina ⁠Saqr, the report said.

The conflict between the United States and Iran has left hundreds of ships and around ​20,000 seafarers stranded inside the Gulf, while traffic through ​the Strait ⁠of Hormuz has been severely disrupted by renewed attacks on vessels this week.

The United States and Iran exchanged fire again on Thursday as Washington awaited ⁠Tehran’s ​response to a US proposal aimed at ​halting the fighting while leaving contentious issues, including Iran’s nuclear programme, unresolved for now.