US President Donald Trump has expressed his desire to see China helping the US in helping to secure the Strait of Hormuz. He also reflected on his upcoming China visit and meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping and hinted that it could be delayed. Trump’s statement comes as uncertainity surrounded the upcoming visit amid war in West Asia. Trump and Jinping met in South Korea in 2025 and reached a truce in the US-China trade tensions and decided to meet again in March 2026. However, America’s pre-emptive attack on Iran alongside Israel on Feb 28 and China’s alleged help to Iran in providing satellite technology, has complicated the matters even as the US president has reiterated, time and again, that he has a good relationship with the Chinese president.
In an telephonic interview to Financial Times, Trump said, “I think China should help too because China gets 90 per cent of its oil from the Straits [sic]. Waiting until the summit would be too late,” he said. “We’d like to know before that. It’s [two weeks is] a long time….We may delay.” The US president’s comments came despite the fact that his Treasury secretary Scott Bessent met his Chinese counterpart He Lifeng in Paris for talks about the planned summit in Beijing.
Trump’s appeal for Strait of Hormuz
This comes after Trump on Friday urged many countries including China to deploy warships in the Strait of Hormuz to secure the region. In a Truth Social post, Trump said that the US has “already destroyed 100 percent of Iran’s military capability”, but he appealed to multiple countries including China, France, Japan, South Korea and the UK to send ships to the area so that the Hormuz will no longer be a threat. He also said that it is easy for Iran to send a drone or two, drop a mine, or deliver a close-range missile somewhere along or in this waterway, “no matter how badly defeated they are.” On Sunday, Wall Street Journal reported, citing US officials, that the POTUS is all set to announce a new coalition that will escort ships through the strategic passage.
In response, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington told CNN that China wants an immediate cession of hostilities, and that “all parties have the responsibility to ensure stable and unimpeded energy supply.” “As a sincere friend and strategic partner of Middle Eastern countries, China will continue to strengthen communication with relevant parties, including parties to the conflict, and play a constructive role for deescalation and restoration of peace,” it added.
(Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing conflicts in West Asia involving Israel, Iran, US, Gulf nations and non-state actors like Hezbollah, Hamas, Houthis, Islamic State, and others. Claims and counterclaims, disinformation and misinformation are being made online and offline. Given this context, WION cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, social media posts, photos and videos.)
