Donald Trump is reportedly considering postponing his anticipated visit to China later this month, a move aimed at intensifying pressure on Beijing to facilitate the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and stabilise soaring oil prices amid the ongoing conflict with Iran.
In an interview with the Financial Times on Sunday, Mr Trump suggested that China’s significant reliance on Middle Eastern oil obliges it to support a new coalition he is attempting to assemble.
This coalition seeks to ensure the safe passage of oil tankers through the strait, which has seen global oil flows disrupted by Iranian threats. "We'd like to know" if Beijing will assist before the trip, Mr Trump stated, adding, "We may delay."
This uncertainty underscores the profound shift in global politics following the US-Israeli strikes on Iran over the past fortnight.
A cancellation of the face-to-face meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping could trigger substantial economic repercussions, particularly given the fraught relationship between Washington and Beijing, marked by reciprocal tariff threats over the last year.
The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding the potential delay.
In Beijing, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Lin Jian, confirmed that China and the US remain in communication regarding Mr Trump’s visit. "Head-of-state diplomacy plays an irreplaceable strategic guiding role in China-U.S. relations," Mr Jian remarked during a daily briefing.
Trump's new comments came as U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was meeting with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng on Monday in Paris for a new round of trade talks that were meant to pave the way for Trump’s Beijing trip. The U.S. and China have declared a truce that has prevented both sides from levying dueling tariffs, but the stakes remain high.
In the early days of the Iran conflict, Trump had said U.S. navy vessels would escort oil tankers through the strait, and downplayed the threat posed by Iran.
But as oil prices soared, he and his administration have been forced to consider new options — including the idea, broached this weekend, for other countries to join the push with their own warships. So far, none has yet formally heeded the call.
Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he returned to Washington from a weekend in Florida that the U.S. had spoken to “about seven” nations about offering military support.
He wouldn't say which ones, though, and demurred when he was asked directly about China — though he subsequently suggested that he'd made such an offer to Beijing.
“China's an interesting case study," he said, noting its reliance on Gulf oil. "So I said, ‘Would you like to come in’ and we'll find out. Maybe they will, maybe they won't.”
War in Iran has sent the price of oil skyrocketing, which has raised the price Americans pay at the pump, just as the midterm election season begins to heat up. China, though, has faced its own economic pressures and recently lowered its 2026 target for growth slightly to 4.5% to 5%, its slowest projected growth since 1991 — meaning prolonged disruptions in the strait could have long-term impacts for Beijing as well.
Lin, at the briefing in Beijing, did not respond directly to questions about Trump’s call for outside help in the strait. He noted the impact on goods and energy trade and repeated his government's call for an end to the fighting.
"China once again calls on all parties to stop military actions immediately, avoid further escalation of tensions, and prevent instability in the region from having a greater impact on global economic development,” he said.
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