China has told the U.S it wants the Strait of Hormuz reopened without restrictions or tolls, and signaled it would act pragmatically to limit military support for Iran, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on Friday.
“Our view is the Chinese are being very pragmatic, and they don’t want to be on the wrong side of this. They want to see peace in that area… So we have a lot of confidence they will do what they can to limit any kind of material support for Iran,” Greer told Bloomberg Television in an interview from Beijing, where he attended the talks between Trump and Xi.
Chinese officials so far have made little mention of the Iran war in official statements.
Greer also said an agreement for double-digit billions of dollars in U.S. agricultural sales to China is expected following Trump’s visit.
The first day of the summit focused heavily on Taiwan, but Trump's comments from Beijing on the war with Iran highlighted another issue looming over the talks with Xi.
Beijing has repeatedly criticized the U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran as illegal.
Last month, Xi announced a four-point peace plan that calls for upholding peaceful coexistence, national sovereignty, the international rule of law and balancing development and security.
The war has threatened China’s energy supplies and risks straining its relationship with Gulf countries.
Beijing worked behind the scenes to convince Iran to hold peace talks with the U.S. in Pakistan last month, but analysts said it would not want to be seen as doing Trump's bidding.
Ahead of the summit, the U.S. State Department said on Tuesday that senior American and Chinese officials had agreed that no country should be allowed to exact shipping tolls in the Strait of Hormuz.
China's embassy did not dispute the U.S. account of the discussion, saying it hoped all sides can work together to resume normal traffic through the strait.
Trump says Iran uranium retrieval mostly for public relations
Responding to a question about the enriched uranium Iran possesses - which could be used to make a nuclear bomb - Trump agreed with Fox News' Sean Hannity that the materials are entombed in the rubble of the nuclear facilities the U.S. and Israel bombed in the early days of the war.
He said it's not necessary for the U.S. to actually retrieve the material - though he would prefer to do so.
"I would rather get it, but we have our eyes on it, you know. We know exactly what's happening there," he said.
He added: "I'd rather get it. I just feel better if I got it, actually, but it's - I think it's more for public relations than it is for anything else."
"I am not going to be much more patient," Trump said in an interview on Fox News' "Hannity" program aired ahead of his Friday meeting with Xi.
"They should make a deal," he said, urging Tehran to reach a deal with Washington to end the war with Iran that started with the United States and Israel bombing Iran on February 28.
A fragile ceasefire announced last month has largely held, but the crucial Strait of Hormuz remains mostly closed to up to one-fifth of the world's usual oil supply.
Trump has said China wants to buy oil from the U.S. Trump made his comments in an interview aired on Fox News' "Hannity" program ahead of his meetings Friday in Beijing.
At 11:30 a.m. (0330 GMT), Trump and Xi will pose for a friendship photo, then have tea together.
The leaders are then due to have lunch at 12:15 p.m.
Trump is expected to leave Beijing for Washington later on Friday.
Trump and Xi holding second day of talks
U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are set to hold talks on the second and final day of Trump's state visit that has featured pomp and business deals.
Trump is on the first visit by a U.S. president to China, Washington's main strategic and economic rival, since a 2017 visit during his first term.
On Friday, the two leaders are scheduled to have tea and lunch before Trump flies back to the United States.
The summit has been aimed at maintaining a fragile trade truce struck when the leaders last met in October.
A day earlier, Xi gave Trump a stark warning that mishandling the Taiwan issue could push U.S.-China relations to "a very dangerous place."
A brief U.S. summary of Thursday's talks highlighted what the White House called the leaders' shared desire to reopen the Strait of Hormuz waterway off Iran, and Xi's apparent interest in buying American oil to reduce China's dependence on Middle East supplies.
Trump has also been expected to urge China to convince Iran to make a deal with Washington to end a war unpopular with American voters. (Reuters)
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