China says it is in communication with the United States about Donald Trump’s planned visit to Beijing, despite the US president’s hints that he could delay the trip if his potential hosts do not help unblock the Strait of Hormuz.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said: “Head-of-state diplomacy plays an irreplaceable strategic guiding role in China-US relations. The two sides maintain communication on President Trump’s visit to China.”
Trump had suggested that this month’s long-awaited trip to Beijing could be called off if China did not respond to the United States’ request for help from third countries to secure the Strait of Hormuz. The strait is a crucial passage for international trade, which has been disrupted by the US-Israel war with Iran.
On Monday, White House officials said the trip could be delayed because of the Iran war. Scott Bessent, US Treasury secretary, said this was due to “logistics” and not because of any dispute over Chinese support in the Middle East.
“We will see if the visit goes as planned,” he said. “But what I do want to discuss – and there is a false narrative out there – is that if the meetings are delayed, they will not be delayed because the president demanded that China monitor the Strait of Hormuz.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said it was “very possible” the meeting could be delayed.
Trump will be in Beijing from March 31 to April 2, where he will meet with Xi Jinping, president of China.
In an interview published by the Financial Times on Sunday, the US president said: “It is appropriate that the people who are the beneficiaries of the Strait help ensure that nothing bad happens there.
“I think China should also help because it gets 90% of its oil from the strait.”
China imports about 50% of its crude oil through the Strait of Hormuz.
Beijing has refused to heed Trump’s requests, made over the weekend, for other countries to send warships to help secure the vital sea route.
On Monday, Lin called for a ceasefire in Iran to “prevent further escalation of tensions, avoid turmoil in the region, and avoid further impacts on global economic development.”
He said China was “maintaining communication with all parties” about the situation and was committed to promoting “the reduction and easing of tensions.”
Tehran has effectively closed the vital waterway, through which about 20% of the world’s oil passes, in retaliation for US and Israeli airstrikes that killed Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei. The blockage has caused the largest oil supply disruption in history and sent global oil prices soaring.
China is reportedly in talks with the Iranian regime to allow oil tankers from the Gulf, but no final agreement has been reached.
Trump and Xi met in South Korea in October and agreed to a temporary truce in the US-China trade war that shook the global economy last year.
Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng will conclude trade talks in Paris on Monday ahead of the Xi-Trump summit. The two sides have been discussing possible agreements on agricultural and critical minerals trade, and Reuters reported that the talks have been “remarkably stable” despite the chaotic international environment.
In recent weeks, China has declined to comment on whether Trump’s launch of a major war in the Middle East involving a key Chinese strategic partner would undermine the upcoming Xi-Trump summit.
A face-to-face meeting between the two leaders is seen as vital to restoring stability between the world’s two largest economies.
A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington said in a statement to CNN on Sunday: “China will continue to strengthen communication with relevant parties, including warring parties, and play a constructive role in reducing tensions and restoring peace.”
Although China has not officially commented on how recent events may influence the summit, nationalist bloggers and state media suggested the meeting could be questioned.
Niu Tanqin, an influential foreign affairs blog with ties to Chinese state media, said that “the United States was actually begging China to help clean up the mess” created in Iran.
Ren Yi, a Chinese nationalist commentator whose comments often come close to Beijing’s position, wrote in
