US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping wrapped up the final day of their Beijing summit with the war in Iran increasingly taking center stage over the trade disputes and technology tensions that had originally been expected to dominate the meeting between the worlds two largest powers.
Meeting on May 15 at Zhongnanhai, the tightly guarded leadership compound of the Chinese Communist Party, the two leaders entered their final round of talks after a first day defined by public displays of goodwill and a growing convergence around the economic risks posed by the war in Iran.
“We did discuss Iran. We feel very similar about [how] we want it to end,” Trump told reporters while sitting next to Xi. “We dont want them to have a nuclear weapon. We want the strait open,” referring to shipping disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic waterway that normally carries roughly one-fifth of global oil supplies.
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While the summit covered a range of issues, the war in Iran has rapidly reshaped its agenda, transforming what was expected to center on trade and technology into a broader effort to manage the conflict’s economic and geopolitical fallout. Washington is pressing Beijing to use its leverage press Tehran, while China is balancing its close ties with Iran against growing concerns over energy supplies and global growth.
Chinas Foreign Ministry said on May 15 that Beijing supports continuing the fragile cease-fire around Iran and that it has been working tirelessly to help end the war while seeking to play a constructive role in future peace negotiations. The ministry also said that “maritime routes should be reopened as soon as possible, an apparent reference to the Strait of Hormuz.
US President Donald Trump poses for photos with Chinas Xi Jinping during a visit to Zhongnanhai Garden in Beijing on May 15.
The comments came after Trump said in a Fox News interview recorded in Beijing on May 14 that Xi offered to help broker a deal with Tehran, agreed that Iran should not possess nuclear weapons, and vowed to not provide the country with military equipment.
Beijing agreed that the Strait of Hormuz should remain open and that Iran should not have a nuclear weapon. Those rhetorical commitments cost China very little, Craig Singleton, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told RFE/RL. The harder test is whether Beijing pressures Tehran, curbs Chinese purchases of Iranian oil, or helps Washington turn general language into observable outcomes.
Iran War Reshapes The Summit
Trump has repeatedly insisted the United States does not need Chinas help to resolve the conflict.
Before departing Washington earlier this week, he warned the cease-fire was on massive life support” and in a Truth Social post early on May 15, Trump also hinted US military operations against Iran could resume, writing that the military decimation of Iran was to be continued!
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Beijing, meanwhile, has carefully avoided directly criticizing Washington while portraying itself as a supporter of diplomacy and regional stability.
[It is] in China’s self-interest to see the situation calm down in the Middle East, Dali Yang, a professor of Chinese politics at the University of Chicago, told RFE/RL. So strategically, I’m pretty sure there is almost an agreement [on Iran], more or less, although clearly China did express opposition to the war.
China remains Irans largest oil customer and one of Tehrans closest economic partners, but it also has strong incentives to avoid a prolonged conflict that could further disrupt supply chains and weigh on global demand.
