US President Donald Trump is expected to press Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing to help end the costly, unpopular war with Iran as formal peace talks have made little headway and the conflict’s global economic toll mounts. The visit is the first by a sitting US president to China since 2017, and officials acknowledge Beijing’s support for a resolution could be limited.
More than a month after a fragile ceasefire came into effect, diplomatic efforts have failed to produce a lasting settlement. The fighting has left thousands dead, reshaped alliances across the Middle East and pushed up prices for oil and other commodities worldwide.
Washington is asking Tehran to abandon its nuclear programme and to stop disrupting shipping in the Strait of Hormuz — the strategic waterway that before the war carried about 20% of the world’s oil and LNG. Iran, for its part, is demanding compensation for war damage, an end to the US blockade of its ports and a cessation of hostilities on all fronts, including in Lebanon where Israel is fighting Iran-backed Hezbollah. Trump has dismissed some of Iran’s demands as “garbage.”
China maintains close ties with Iran and remains a major buyer of Iranian oil, complicating US hopes for a unified international response. The war’s economic effects are felt at home in the United States, where inflation has risen and Republicans worry voters may punish the party in November’s midterms if the situation deteriorates.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the administration wants China to “play a more active role” in persuading Iran to change course, and warned that any Chinese support for Tehran would harm US-China relations. Rubio made the remarks during an interview broadcast while en route to China.
Officials from both countries agreed last month that no state should be able to levy tolls on traffic through the Persian Gulf, administration sources said; China did not publicly dispute that account. Still, ship-tracking data show Chinese-linked tankers continue to transit the Strait of Hormuz. On Wednesday, a Chinese supertanker carrying 2 million barrels of Iraqi crude sailed through the channel, the third recorded Chinese oil transit since the war began.
Other nations are reportedly exploring shipping arrangements similar to Tehran’s deals with Iraq and Pakistan, a move that could further entrench Iran’s leverage over the waterway that carries fertilizers, petrochemicals and other bulk goods vital to global supply chains. Ship-tracking data also showed a Panama-flagged crude oil tanker managed by Japan’s Eneos passed through the strait, underscoring the region’s continued importance for countries that previously relied heavily on Gulf-sourced oil.
The conflict has accelerated shifts in regional alliances. Reports surfaced that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a clandestine visit to the United Arab Emirates in March for talks with UAE leader Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, which Israel described as a “historic breakthrough.” The UAE denied the trip took place, calling such claims “entirely unfounded.” Iran, which has launched strikes on the UAE more than on other Gulf states in retaliation for US-Israeli actions, warned the Emirates against aligning with Israel.
Elsewhere, Reuters reported Saudi fighter jets struck Iran-backed militias in Iraq, part of a pattern of discreet military responses by Gulf states. Sources also said Kuwait carried out retaliatory strikes into Iraq.
At the White House, Vice President J.D. Vance said negotiators were making progress but stressed that any deal must meet President Trump’s “red line”: sufficient guarantees that Iran will never acquire a nuclear weapon. Iran continues to deny it is seeking nuclear arms.
As Trump seeks Chinese cooperation in Beijing, US officials acknowledge the challenge: persuading a major economic partner that also has longstanding ties to Tehran to take steps that would tilt the balance in Washington’s favour — while managing the trade and broader diplomatic agenda of the high-profile visit.
