Trump cites Iran war
US President Donald Trump said Monday he had asked China to delay his planned summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping by about a month as he deals with the war in Iran.
“We’re speaking to China,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “Because of the war I want to be here, I have to be here, I feel. And so we’ve requested that we delay it a month or so.”
The summit had been expected to take place on March 31-April 2. dates.
Summit was meant as a high-profile reset
The Trump-Xi meeting had originally been conceived as a high-level effort to stabilize US-China ties, with trade expected to dominate the agenda.
Before the latest uncertainty, the trip had been framed as a chance to preserve a fragile trade truce and steady relations between the world’s two biggest economies after months of tension.
Trump had promoted the visit in grand terms, saying it could be the “biggest display” in China’s history, and signaled he hoped the summit would also deliver further Chinese purchases of US goods, including soybeans, a politically sensitive export for US farmers.
Trade, fentanyl, Taiwan in background
The meeting would have marked the first in-person encounter between Trump and Xi since talks in South Korea last October, where the two sides agreed on tariff reductions in exchange for Chinese action on fentanyl-related trade and a resumption of soybean purchases.
Taiwan, a highly sensitive issue in US-China ties, was mostly avoided in those talks but came up again later, including over US arms sales to the island.
China sees Taiwan as part of its territory, while Taipei rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims. The United States maintains unofficial ties with Taiwan and remains its main arms supplier.
Iran war shifts focus to Hormuz
The possible postponement also comes as Trump presses China and US allies to help address disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, the critical oil shipping route affected by the Iran conflict.
What was expected to be mainly a trade summit has been complicated by the Iran war, shifting the focus to energy security, shipping risks and broader instability in the region.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Monday that if the China meetings were rescheduled, it would be for logistical reasons, not because Trump wanted Beijing to police the Strait of Hormuz.
Crisis also hits China
In fact, the Strait of Hormuz is now experiencing what experts describe as a de facto closure, with the conflict severely disrupting commercial shipping.
That is also hitting China. While some Iranian oil is still reaching Chinese buyers, broader Gulf energy flows have come under heavy strain, raising risks to supply, shipping and prices.
For Beijing, that means the crisis is not just a Middle East security problem or a US diplomatic issue. It is also a direct economic threat, because China depends heavily on energy imports and is vulnerable to any prolonged disruption in Gulf oil and gas flows.