AP: US presses China to influence Iran ahead of Trump-Xi summit

White House officials are urging China to use its influence with Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, just days before a highly anticipated summit in Beijing between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio publicly called on Beijing to raise the issue during Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi’s visit to China. According to China’s state-run Xinhua news agency, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Araghchi on Wednesday, May 6.

“I hope the Chinese tell him what he needs to be told,” Rubio said during a White House briefing on Tuesday. “And that is that what you are doing in the strait is causing you to be globally isolated. You’re the bad guy in this.”

Rubio argued that China has been more severely affected than the US by Iran’s effective closure of the strategic waterway during the two-month-long war. He noted that China’s export-driven economy depends heavily on shipments passing through the strait, while the country imports roughly half of its crude oil and nearly one-third of its liquefied natural gas from the Middle East, according to China’s General Administration of Customs.

“It is in China’s interest that Iran stop closing the strait,” Rubio said.

At the same time, the US is engaged in diplomatic efforts at the United Nations. A diplomat familiar with the matter told The Associated Press that Washington is working to persuade China not to veto a US-backed UN Security Council resolution aimed at reopening the strait and condemning Iran’s actions. The diplomat spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing deliberations.

China and Russia, both allies of Tehran on the council, vetoed a similar resolution last month, arguing that it went too far and failed to condemn US and Israeli strikes that triggered the conflict.

Meanwhile, China is expected to press its own priorities ahead of the Trump-Xi summit, particularly US arms sales to Taiwan, which Beijing considers a breakaway province.

Rubio confirmed that Taiwan will likely be part of the leaders’ discussions.

“I think both countries understand that it is neither one of our interests to see anything destabilising happen in that part of the world,” Rubio said. “We don’t need any destabilising events to occur with regard to Taiwan or anywhere in the Indo-Pacific. And I think that’s to the mutual benefit of both the United States and the Chinese.”

In December, Trump announced a record $11.1 billion arms sale to Taiwan and later indicated he might raise the issue with Xi, a prospect that has raised concerns among officials in Taipei.

Last week, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, in a phone call with Rubio, urged the United States to “make the right choices” on Taiwan in order to safeguard “stability” in bilateral relations, according to a statement from China’s Foreign Ministry.

By Tamilla Hasanova