BEIJING – Trump asked to delay the timing of a much-anticipated summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping by “a month or so” so he can focus on a wider war with Iran.
It is the latest complication from the US-Israeli attack on Tehran, which has close ties with Beijing, as the conflict adds another possible point of tension between the US and China.
The summit was intended to focus on trade, as both Trump and Xi seek to expand a delicate tariff agreement between the world’s two largest economies. But China showed little immediate sign that it was troubled by the possible delay, which analysts said could actually prove beneficial to efforts to further stabilize ties.
Trump said Monday that his trip to China, planned for later this month, may be postponed because of the war, telling reporters in Washington that “I think it’s important that I’m here.” But his administration has not confirmed that the trip has been delayed or shared more specific dates for when it will be rescheduled.
Beijing did little to clarify the situation on Tuesday, with China’s foreign ministry saying it “does not have much information at this time”.
“China and the United States are maintaining communication on the timing of President Trump’s visit to China and other related matters,” spokesman Lin Jian told reporters at a regular news conference in Beijing, repeating a line from the previous day.
The White House said Trump will travel from March 31 to April 2. China has not yet confirmed the dates.
With Iran’s effective shutdown of the critical Strait of Hormuz raising global shipping and fuel prices, Trump is trying to win naval support from countries that import oil and gas through the waterway. On Sunday, he told The Financial Times he would “like to know” whether China would help and suggested he might delay the trip.
Treasury Secretary Scott Besant sought to clarify that postponing the trip had “nothing to do with the Chinese committing to the Strait of Hormuz”. Trump later said there were “no tricks to it” and that he was looking forward to the trip.
China says the visit has nothing to do with the strait and is outwardly upset by the uncertainty surrounding Trump’s plans.
Rather than being upset by the possible delay, China “may actually be a little relieved,” said Dominic Chiu, senior analyst for US-China relations at the Eurasia Group.
“As I understand it, the preparations for the Trump state visit are very poor,” he told NBC News in an interview.
Even before the US-Israeli war with Iran began on February 28, Chiu said, “there is a lack of coordination on the White House side to come up with concrete deliverables to assemble a potential trade delegation to accompany Trump to China.”
If the summit is delayed, “it will give both sides a little more time to talk,” he said.
Neil Thomas, a fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute’s Center for China Analysis, agreed.
“From China’s point of view, there is considerable concern about the lack of preparations on the American side for the summit in Beijing, so Chinese policymakers will not mind an extra few weeks to prepare for the more important visit,” he told Reuters.
“Trump is involved in a war in Iran that has not been resolved as quickly as predicted,” Thomas said, “which means that planning a successful visit to Beijing is impossible.”
The latest round of US-China trade talks ended in Paris on Monday without any public announcements, despite going well. Expectations for the Trump-Xi summit, which comes after years of turmoil in US-China relations, are generally low.
“I think a grand bargain is highly unlikely,” Chiu said.
Instead, he said, the U.S. and China will focus on the “low-hanging fruit” they can offer each other, such as Chinese pledges to buy more U.S. agricultural and energy products or further cracking down on the international flow of fentanyl substances.
With many of Trump’s global tariffs recently struck down by the US Supreme Court, Chiu said Beijing sees the summit as an opportunity to negotiate lower tariffs.
While Beijing has publicly criticized new Section 301 trade investigations the Trump administration has opened against China and other countries, while seeking to replace those tariffs, it views them as a “manageable irritant,” he said.
And while China is concerned about oil and gas supplies through the Strait of Hormuz, “I don’t think they’re exactly wringing their hands over it,” Chiu said.
Although Trump said on Monday that China – the world’s biggest energy importer – gets 90% of its oil through the strait, experts put the figure at closer to half. China is a major producer of oil and gas in its own right and is building up its strategic oil reserves.
Some of its oil is still getting through the strait, said Tim Huxley, director of Mandarin Shipping in Hong Kong. But even though its energy supplies are relatively secure, China still wants to end the blockade.
“China has got enough for the next few months,” Huxley said. “But the longer it goes, the more difficult it will be.”
Janice Mackey Frayer reported from Beijing and Jennifer Jett from Hong Kong.
