Trump and Xi appear intent on preventing deep differences over Iran war from overshadowing China summit

Washington — President Donald Trump Due to leave on Tuesday Meet in Beijing with the president Xi Jinping Weeks of attempts to persuade the Chinese government to use its considerable influence to get Iran to agree to U.S. terms to end a two-month war or at least reopen the Iran nuclear deal have failed. Strait of Hormuz.

Trump has alternated between venting and saying that China, the world’s largest buyer of Iranian oil, is not doing more to bring the Islamic Republic to heel, but then admitting that Xi Jinping’s government has provided help Last month, Tehran was urged to return to ceasefire talks to de-escalate the conflict amid wavering talks.

but before that High-stakes visit from US leader, The White House has low expectations that Trump can persuade Xi Jinping to change China’s posture.

On the contrary, the government seems determined not to allow Disagreement over Iran Overshadowing efforts to make progress on other difficult issues in complex relationships—including trading Further promote cooperation with China Prevents the export of fentanyl precursors.

“We do not want this incident to undermine the broader relationship or any agreement that may be reached at our meeting in Beijing,” the U.S. Trade Representative said. Jamison Greer said on Bloomberg TV last week.

Beijing has publicly insisted it wants to see the war end and has been making diplomatic efforts behind the scenes to help its ally Pakistan push for a peace deal. China has also sent a “subtle message of displeasure” to Iran for closing the Strait of Hormuz and to the United States for blocking Iranian shipping, said Ahmed Abdul, an expert on Chinese influence in the Middle East at Chatham House in London.

“They’re very cautious, risk-averse, and they don’t want to get involved in anything that gets them into something that they don’t think about,” he said.

In recent days, the U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and finance minister Scott Bessant have call for greater intensity China has used its influence to help reopen the strait, through which about 20% of the world’s crude oil flowed before the war.

The U.S. State Department announced on Friday that it would sanction four entities, including three Chinese companies. Providing sensitive satellite imagery This allows Iran to conduct military strikes against U.S. forces in the Middle East. Previously, the Ministry of Finance had taken action Targeting Chinese refineries Accused of buying oil from Tehran as well as oil shippers. The sanctions cut these companies off from the U.S. financial system and punish anyone who does business with them.

Beijing calls the sanctions “illegal unilateral pressure” and enacted a blocking regulation (passed in 2021 and never used) that prohibits any Chinese entity from recognizing or complying with the sanctions.

Before Trump’s arrival, China’s foreign minister Wang Yi hosted last week Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Beijing. China’s foreign minister used the opportunity to defend Iran’s right to develop civilian nuclear energy.

Xi Jinping also made veiled criticism of the United States over the war. He said it was vital to uphold the international rule of law, adding that “the rule of law must not be selectively applied or ignored” nor should the world be allowed to Return to the “Law of the Jungle”.

Trump on Monday downplayed his differences with China over Iran and emphasized Xi Jinping’s desire to see the strait reopened. “He wants to see this done,” Trump said of the Chinese leader.

Analysts say Xi Jinping, like Trump, has good reasons not to let disagreements over Iran affect other aspects of the relationship. China imports about half of its crude oil and nearly a third of its liquefied natural gas from Middle Eastern countries affected by the strait closure, according to China’s General Administration of Customs.

Beijing wants Be wary of further deterioration in Sino-US relations – This will bring further challenges to its economy.

“I think victory for Xi Jinping is continued stability without surrender,” said Craig Singleton, senior director of China programs at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. “He hopes the summit will affirm China’s superpower status, keep tariffs predictable and reiterate that Washington must deal with Beijing on its terms.”

However, difficult moments have emerged between Trump and Xi since the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran in late February, threatening to undermine the relative stability of their relationship.

The U.S. government says China has long supported Iran’s ballistic missile program and provided it with dual-use industrial components that can be used in missile production.

Last month, Trump threatened to impose 50% tariffs on China after reports that Beijing was preparing to ship a shipment of new air defense systems to Iran, but later backed down on the threat, claiming he had received Xi Jinping’s written guarantee He will not provide arms to Tehran. Days later, Trump cryptically said the U.S. Navy had intercepted a Chinese ship carrying “gifts” to Iran. He offered no further explanation.

“There have been times where it seemed like it was going to spill over,” said Patricia Kim, co-director of the Brookings Institution’s project on assessing China. “But again, I think there’s a lot of effort on both sides to not let this destabilize the broader relationship.”

Both Trump and Xi may be eager to avoid creating an economic cloud, as they did last year when the two countries came to the brink of a major trade war.

After Trump imposed 145% tariffs on Chinese goods and China announced further tightening of export controls on rare earths that could harm U.S. industry, the two governments backed away from imposing the harshest penalties on each other. Both sides reached A fragile truce in long-running trade dispute October.

Trump and other administration officials believe the conflict with Iran — and particularly the closure of the strait — would do more harm to China and its Pacific neighbors than to the United States, which is much less dependent on Middle Eastern oil.

“China is an export-driven economy. That means they rely on other countries to buy products from China,” Rubio told reporters last week, arguing that it was in China’s interest to resume traffic from Iran. “If you can’t get the goods there, you can’t buy from them, and if your economy is destroyed by what Iran is doing, you can’t buy from them,” he said.

But for now, China has no interest in getting further involved in the conflict and appears unwilling to be seen as siding with Washington.

“It’s difficult to get China deeply involved under any circumstances,” said Kurt Campbell, a former deputy secretary of state under the Biden administration and chairman of the Asia Group. “They’re going to want to be careful because they can see the political quicksand as much as the next person.”

Associated Press writers Didi Tang in Washington, Adam Schreck in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and David Rising in Bangkok contributed to this report.

Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. all rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.