Kamal Ghorui
US President Donald Trump has said that Chinese President Xi Jinping had offered China’s help to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and pledged not to provide military equipment to Iran amid its war with the United States and Israel.Trump made the remarks in an interview with Fox News following a two-day summit with Xi in Beijing.“He said he’s not going to give military equipment… he said that strongly,” Trump said, referring to Xi. Trump added that the Chinese leader had expressed interest in seeing the strait reopened and had offered assistance.“He’d like to see the Hormuz Strait open, and said, ‘If I can be of any help whatsoever, I would like to help,’” Trump said.Trump also said Xi wanted to see a deal reached with Iran. “President Xi would like to see a deal made,” he said. “He did offer, he said, ‘If I can be of any help at all, I would like to be of help.’”US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent separately told CNBC that China would use its influence with Iran to help reopen the strait.“It’s very much in their interest to get the strait reopened,” Bessent said, adding that China had a greater stake in reopening Hormuz than the United States due to its dependence on Middle Eastern oil supplies.A White House official said Trump and Xi agreed during their talks that the strait must remain open to ensure the free flow of energy. According to the official, Xi also expressed China’s opposition to the militarisation of the waterway and to any attempt to impose tolls on its use.Chinese state media did not specifically mention the Strait of Hormuz as a topic of discussion between the two leaders. State news agency Xinhua said only that Trump and Xi exchanged views on major international and regional issues, including the Middle East situation.Iran has blockaded the strait since early March following US and Israeli airstrikes, disrupting a key global energy route through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s crude oil previously transited.
