China has called for the Strait of Hormuz to be reopened as soon as possible, after Donald Trump said Xi Jinping told him he “wants to help” on Iran.
China’s foreign ministry said there should be a “comprehensive and lasting” ceasefire with Iran.
“China has always maintained that dialogue and negotiation are the right path, and that a military solution is not the way forward. Now that the door to dialogue has been opened, it should not be closed again,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.
“Shipping routes should be reopened as soon as possible, responding to the calls of the international community, and jointly maintaining the stability and smooth flow of global supply chains.”
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The statement came as Trump and Xi met for tea in the garden at Zhongnanhai, the leadership compound in the centre of Beijing. The two leaders later had lunch together before Trump departed on Air Force One for Washington, drawing the two-day visit to a close.
Earlier, Trump said he did not believe that Beijing wanted Iran to have a nuclear weapon and that only China and the US were capable of removing the enriched uranium from Iran. He said that Xi said China would not provide military equipment to Tehran and would like to see a deal between the US and Iran.
“Xi said if I could be of any help whatsoever, I would like to help,” Trump told Fox News.
During a day of ceremonial events on Thursday that included a state banquet in Trump’s honour, the Chinese and US leaders hailed their personal friendship and agreed to implement measures aimed at bringing stability to the bilateral relationship over the next three years.
These include the establishment of a Board of Trade and a Board of Investment, forums where the two sides can discuss their economic relationship.
US treasury secretary Scott Bessent suggested the US could remove tariffs from low-value Chinese goods that American manufacturers had no interest in producing.
Xi told a group of American business leaders that China would become more open, a signal that Beijing could offer greater market access to US firms.
“One thing I think that we’re going to make a deal on is they’ve agreed they want to buy oil from the United States. They’re going to go to Texas. We’re going to start sending Chinese ships to Texas, and to Louisiana, and to Alaska,” Trump told Fox News.
“They have an insatiable appetite for energy and we have unlimited energy.”
Amid the bonhomie of Trump’s visit to Beijing, Xi issued a warning that Taiwan was the single issue that could derail the relationship between China and the US. He told Trump that “mishandling” the issue of Taiwan could lead to clashes between the two superpowers and even to conflict.
As he flew back from Beijing on Friday, Trump said he was considering whether to lift US sanctions on Chinese oil companies buying Iranian oil. China is the biggest buyer of Iranian oil.
His comments shed no light on whether Beijing might use its influence with Tehran to end a conflict it said should never have started.
“I’m not asking for any favours because, when you ask for favours, you have to do favours in return,” Trump said, when asked by a reporter on his plane home whether Xi had made any firm commitment to put pressure on the Iranians to reopen the strait.
“We’ve wiped out their (Iran’s) armed forces, essentially. We may have to do a little cleanup work.”
Iran effectively shut the strait to most shipping in response to US.-Israeli attacks that began on February 28th, causing an unprecedented disruption to global energy supplies.
Additional reporting: Reuters
