When President Donald Trump landed in Beijing this week for a two-day state visit, he brought a wish list for Chinese President Xi Jinping: more business deals, greater access to the Chinese market and, most immediately, help with reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
Speaking about China, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent remarked that it was “very much in their interest to get the strait reopened.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio argued that Beijing possessed the leverage over Iran to push the regime into serious negotiations with Washington on ending the war.
But though Trump reportedly received some vague assurances from Xi on the first two items, he essentially walked away empty-handed on the last. Trump suggested that Xi agreed to put pressure on Tehran to open the regional choke point, but nothing from the summit suggests that China has changed its mind about bailing the Americans out of the hole they have dug in the Middle East.
Author
More on Asia
Events on China
