Trump Says Xi Offered To Help End War With Iran And Keep Hormuz Strait Open

President Donald Trump said Thursday that China’s leader Xi Jinping had offered to help negotiate an end to the war with Iran and keep the Strait of Hormuz open to global shipping after their summit meeting in Beijing.

“BEIJING -- President Donald Trump told Xi Jinping on Thursday that "it's an honor to be your friend," even as his Chinese counterpart offered warnings about avoiding a possible clash between the two nations during their much-watched bilateral meeting”

ABC7 Los Angeles

Trump told Fox News that Xi said, “I would love to be a help, if I can be of any help whatsoever,” and Trump added that Xi assured him that China would not provide military equipment to Iran.

ABC7 Los Angeles

Trump said Xi also told him that China intended to continue buying oil from Iran, “He said, you know, they buy a lot of their oil there and they’d like to keep doing that,” as the summit unfolded against concerns about a widening regional war.

A White House readout said Xi agreed with Trump that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon and that Xi “expressed interest in purchasing more American oil to reduce China’s dependence on the Strait in the future.”

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States was not asking for China’s help on Iran, telling NBC News, “We’re not asking for China’s help. We don’t need their help,” while he said China agreed that Iran should not have a nuclear weapon.

Rubio said the Chinese told the U.S. team that, “they are not in favor of militarizing the straits of Hormuz, and they’re not in favor of a tolling system,” and he said, “It’s good that we have alliance, or at least agreement on that point.”

Al Jazeera

In a separate account, the BBC said Trump told reporters he would have a “long talk” about Iran with Xi, while China was trying to step in as a peacemaker and had joined Pakistan as a mediator in the US-Israel war against Iran.

The BBC also quoted Rubio saying he hoped the Chinese would tell Abbas Araghchi what he needed to be told, including that “what you are doing in the Strait is causing you to be globally isolated. You’re the bad guy in this.”

The U.S. and China agreed that the Strait of Hormuz must remain open and free of tolls, and CNBC reported that Xi expressed interest in buying more U.S. oil to reduce China’s dependence on the Strait in the future.

At the same time, Xi warned Trump that mishandling Taiwan would put the relationship in “great jeopardy,” with CNBC citing Xinhua that Xi said the U.S. and China “will have clashes and even conflicts” if Taiwan’s independence is mishandled.

ABC7 Los Angeles reported Trump told Xi, “it’s an honor to be your friend,” while Xi used the “Thucydides Trap” framing and said, “Cooperation benefits both sides, while confrontation harms both.”

In the background of the Iran war, the BBC said the war in Iran had driven up costs for petrochemical-linked items in China and that for some producers costs have gone up 20%, while the BBC also said China’s economy was battling slower growth and higher unemployment.