In addition, Xi promised him not to provide Iran with weapons, Trump said. “He said he would not deliver any military equipment,” said the US President. “He said that emphatically.”
Trump is staying in Beijing until Friday for a state visit. After the first conversation with Xi, the White House said both sides agreed that the Strait of Hormuz must “remain open” for energy transport.
The strait has been largely closed by Tehran since the start of the Iran war at the end of February. As a result, energy prices shot up worldwide. The US Army, in turn, is blocking Iranian ports along the shipping lane.
China is a major buyer of Iranian oil and is pushing for a rapid opening of the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and gas shipments pass.
