Trump delays Beijing visit amid Iran tensions, Strait of Hormuz crisis

US President Donald Trump has requested to postpone his planned trip to Beijing by about a month due to the ongoing conflict in Iran. He previously indicated the visit could be delayed if China did not assist in unblocking the Strait of Hormuz.

The summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, originally scheduled for late March, was addressed by Trump on March 16 at the White House: “I would love to, but because of the war, I have to be here. So, we requested that we delay it a month or so.”

China confirmed it is in talks with the US about the visit, with the foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian stating: “Head-of-state diplomacy plays an irreplaceable strategic guiding role in China-US relations. The two sides are maintaining communication regarding President Trump’s visit to China.”

Trump suggested the long-awaited trip could be postponed if China does not respond to US requests for third-party assistance to secure the Strait of Hormuz, a vital international trade route disrupted by conflict involving the US, Israel, and Iran.

On March 17, Scott Bessent, the US Treasury Secretary, said: “We will see whether the visit takes place as scheduled. But what I do want to parse – and there’s a false narrative out there – that if the meetings are delayed, it wouldn’t be delayed because the president’s demanded that China police the Strait of Hormuz.” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt noted the meeting could very well be postponed.

Trump is scheduled to be in Beijing from 31 March to 2 April, where he will meet China’s president.

In an interview published by the Financial Times on March 15, the US president said: “It’s only appropriate that people who are the beneficiaries of the Strait will help to make sure that nothing bad happens there. I think China should help too because China gets 90% of its oil from the straits.”

China imports about 50% of its crude oil through the Strait of Hormuz. Beijing has declined to respond to Trump’s requests, made over the weekend, for other countries to send warships to help secure the vital shipping route.

On March 16, Lin called for a ceasefire in Iran to “prevent further escalation of tensions, avoid turmoil in the region, and prevent greater impacts on global economic development.”

He said China was “maintaining communication with all parties” about the situation and was committed to promoting “de-escalation and easing tensions.”

Tehran has effectively blocked a vital waterway that carries about 20% of the world’s oil in response to US and Israeli airstrikes that killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The blockade caused the largest disruption in oil supplies in history and a sharp rise in global oil prices.

Reports indicate that China is negotiating with the Iranian regime on the possibility of allowing oil tankers to pass through the Persian Gulf, but no final agreement has been reached.

In October, Trump and Xi Jinping met in South Korea and agreed on a temporary truce in the US-China trade war, which shook the global economy last year.

By Jeyhun Aghazada