BEIJING, CHINA – MAY 15: U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping visit Zhongnanhai Leadership Center in Beijing, China, May 15, 2026.
Mark Schiefelbein Pool | Getty Images News | Getty Images
US President Donald Trump said Thursday at the end of a two-day presidential summit in Beijing that China is keen to “support” peace talks between Washington and Tehran.
In an interview with Fox News on Thursday, President Trump said Chinese President Xi Jinping has denied sending military aid to U.S. forces in Iran, but has offered diplomatic assistance.
“I hope the Strait of Hormuz will be open,” Trump said, adding that Xi had said China was ready to support efforts to end the war.
President Trump said, “If I can be of any help, I would like to help.”
President Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Friday that he was in “almost complete agreement” with Xi on the situation in Iran.
Asked if he thought China would pressure Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Trump said: “I’m not asking for any favors.”
“When you ask for a favor, you have to do something in return. We don’t need favors,” he said.
But of Mr. Xi, he added, “I think he will.”
“I think he would like to see it open,” Trump said. “He gets about 40 percent of his energy and oil from the Strait. We’re getting nothing. We don’t need it.”
On Thursday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC that China would cooperate behind the scenes to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
CNBC has reached out to the Chinese government for comment.
The Iran war is in its third month, and gasoline prices have soared in the United States and oil prices have soared globally as Iran continues to blockade the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route for oil and other goods.
The United States paused attacks on Iran last month, but President Trump said the ceasefire was “on life support” as the two countries struggle to agree on the terms of a peace deal.
President Trump told Fox News on Thursday that China has agreed to buy U.S. oil, adding that Xi wants to make the Strait of Hormuz toll free.
According to the US government, China is Iran’s largest trading partner and a major buyer of Iranian crude oil. Chinese purchases account for about 90% of Iran’s oil exports and generate tens of billions of dollars in annual revenue for the Iranian government.
Beijing has largely stood by and watched the war between the United States and Iran, criticizing the conflict and calling for an end to it.
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson reiterated that position Friday, saying Beijing “believes that dialogue and negotiations are the right path forward, and the use of force is a dead end.”
“There is no point in continuing this conflict and it should never have happened in the first place,” they said. “Finding a way to resolve the situation early is in the interest of not only the United States and Iran, but also countries in the region and the rest of the world.”
This photo obtained from Iran’s ISNA news agency and taken on May 2, 2026, shows the Gambian-flagged tanker Biri anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Bandar Abbas in southern Iran. (Photo courtesy of Amirhossein KHORGOOEI / ISNA / AFP via Getty Images) /
Amirhossein Kolgouei | AFP | Getty Images
Will China support President Trump on the Iran issue?
Analysts told CNBC there are likely limits to the influence China is willing or able to use to help end the U.S.-Iran war.
Yue Su, chief China economist at the Economist Intelligence Unit, said that while the bilateral talks between Trump and Xi “certainly highlighted common ground” on Iran, there are limits to what China can realistically do.
“The Iranian regime is operating in survival mode and will put its own interests and agenda above all else,” she said.
Damian Ma, director of the Carnegie Center for China Studies, told CNBC that Beijing does not have a strong interest in supporting Iran.
“It’s clear that over the past decade, China has diversified its relationships in the Middle East, whether it’s with Saudi Arabia or the UAE. It’s really been a relationship of convenience,” he said.
Ma said that while there could be some consensus or agreement between the US and China on what to do about Iran, China would be less motivated than other countries by concerns about an energy shock.
“China is one of the countries in a better position to withstand shocks to the oil market. It has large reserves of renewable energy and domestic coal,” he said. “Compared to many other countries, China is in a very advantageous position.”
Meanwhile, China analysts at Eurasia Group question how far China is willing to go when it comes to diplomacy between the United States and Iran.
“Limited coordination regarding Iran remains the base case and more likely regarding Taiwan,” they said. “The US readout suggests that China may take a clearer position on Iran, clarify its opposition to the Hormuz toll, and increase US energy purchases as a means of addressing US concerns. (But) this is probably the limit of US-China cooperation on Iran.”
Raymond James analysts said in a note earlier this week that China is unlikely to voluntarily intervene in the situation.
“While President Trump may be seeking to use Chinese influence to change the course of stalled negotiations with Iran, we are skeptical that China will want to exert influence forcefully in this context,” they said.
“Beijing needs to balance its relationships with Iran, other Gulf Arab states, and the United States, so we will continue to see more demands for peace without China taking a more active role.”
He added that one area where China could play a more important role could be as a potential recipient of Iran’s highly enriched uranium, if the proposal to transport the remaining stockpile out of Iran comes to fruition.
Kirk Yang, a professor in the Department of Political Science and Economics at National Taiwan University, said President Trump needs help from the Chinese government to ensure an end to the war.
“With midterm elections in about six months, Trump needs China’s help to end the war with Iran, increase global oil supplies, and control U.S. oil prices and inflation,” he said. “President Trump also wants to expand trade with China and will likely lower tariffs on China. However, it is clear that President Trump will continue to block China’s access to high-end AI chips and technology, which has major implications for U.S. national security.”
