Washington, DC, May 5 — U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent accused China of effectively financing Iran by maintaining large-scale energy purchases from Tehran, saying Beijing’s imports sustain “the largest state sponsor of terrorism,” during remarks to Fox News ahead of President Donald Trump’s planned visit to Beijing to meet President Xi Jinping.
Bessent pressed China to join a U.S.-led effort to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which he said has been “closed by Iran” following recent attacks. He described the administration’s initiative, called “Project Freedom,” as a mission to guide vessels trapped in the waterway and asked Beijing to back the international operation. “We are reopening it. So I would urge the Chinese to join us in supporting this international operation,” he told the outlet, arguing that China could use its leverage with Tehran to help secure a diplomatic resolution.
The Treasury secretary said Washington is signaling that Iranians “do not have control” of the maritime route and asserted U.S. control over the strait. He also framed the upcoming summit between Trump and Xi as a valuable opportunity for direct leader-to-leader dialogue and credited stability in ties to mutual respect between the two presidents.
The appeal to China follows a UN Security Council standoff in which China and Russia vetoed a draft resolution condemning Iran’s blockade of Hormuz. Chinese Ambassador Fu Cong defended the veto, saying the proposed text “failed to capture the root causes and the full picture of the conflict in a comprehensive and balanced manner,” and pointed to omissions related to U.S. and Israeli actions.
Since the United States withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018, the Trump administration has pursued a “maximum pressure” campaign aimed at curbing Iranian energy exports. Despite those measures and the collapse of the deal, Beijing continued to import Iranian oil. After recent U.S. sanctions targeted Chinese firms, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said Beijing “opposes illicit unilateral sanctions that have no basis in international law” and warned against U.S. “long-arm jurisdiction.”
Analysts say the disagreement over security in the Gulf sits within a wider U.S.-China rivalry encompassing trade, Taiwan and other strategic issues. The Treasury secretary’s comments underline Washington’s push for allied support in the Gulf and its call for Beijing to take a more active diplomatic role with Tehran.
(This report is sourced from a syndicated feed and published as received. ANI)
