Illustrative photo
// TASS
U.S. President Donald Trump may postpone the summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping if China does not assist in unblocking the Strait of Hormuz. This statement was made in an interview with the Financial Times.
The scheduled meeting between Trump and Xi was set to take place in two weeks in Beijing and would be the first visit by a U.S. president to China in the last nine years. Preparations for the summit began after discussions between U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in Paris.
During the interview, Trump emphasized that China should facilitate the restoration of shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, as a significant portion of China's oil imports passes through it. He added that waiting for a response from Beijing before the summit would be too long.
Chinese local media reacted negatively to his words. For example, the nationalist publication Global Times published an article questioning the U.S. calls for "shared responsibility," noting that the conflict was initiated by Washington.
Moreover, Chinese experts are skeptical about the possibility of the country participating in resolving the conflict. Yu Xinbo, director of the Center for American Studies at Fudan University, told Bloomberg that China's intervention in the conflict makes no sense, and participation in military actions against Iran would be unreasonable.
Analysts believe that the possible postponement of Trump's visit may be related to concerns about the reaction to his trip to China amid the current military tensions in the region.
The Trump-Xi summit was planned following their meeting in South Korea last October, when the parties agreed on a trade truce and began preparations for a more comprehensive mutual trade agreement.
Experts suggest that if the visit is only postponed, the Chinese side may view this as an opportunity to avoid a public statement on the Iranian conflict.
