US President Donald Trump said Chinese President Xi Jinping offered to help broker an end to the Iran conflict and ensure freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, underscoring how Middle East tensions have become intertwined with a broader effort by Washington and Beijing to steady relations.
In an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity set to air on Thursday evening in the US, Trump said Xi had personally expressed willingness to assist amid mounting concerns over disruptions in one of the world’s most important oil shipping lanes.
“President Xi would like to see a deal made,” Trump said. “He did offer, he said ‘if I can be of any help at all, I would like to be of help.’”
Trump linked China’s interest directly to its dependence on Middle Eastern energy supplies, noting that Beijing buys large volumes of Iranian oil and would benefit from keeping the Strait of Hormuz open.
“The references to Iran, energy security and the Strait of Hormuz show that the agenda is no longer only bilateral,” said Jing Qian, vice-president of the Asia Society and managing director of its Centre for China Analysis.
“The two sides are beginning to talk about shared systemic risks,” he added. “Different language, but both point toward the same strategic necessity: avoiding uncontrolled escalation.”
The remarks came as Trump and Xi sought to project warmer ties during the first day of their summit in Beijing, with both sides emphasising cooperation despite continuing tensions over Taiwan, trade and technology.
The US president said that he invited Xi to visit the White House on September 24, signalling an effort to sustain high-level engagement between the two powers.
Trump later reinforced the upbeat tone of the summit in a lengthy social media post, saying Xi had referred to the United States as “perhaps being a declining nation” – a characterisation Trump said reflected conditions under former president Joe Biden rather than his own administration.
Trump added that Xi had congratulated him on what he described as recent US economic and military successes and expressed hope that relations with Beijing would become “stronger and better than ever before”.
The summit has so far produced few major concrete agreements, though Beijing announced it would resume issuing import permits to US beef producers and both sides signalled interest in deeper cooperation on trade, investment and artificial intelligence.
Trump also said Xi had committed to purchasing 200 Boeing aircraft, describing the deal as a major boost for US manufacturing. The White House has not yet released details of the proposed purchase, which would mark one of the largest commercial aviation commitments between the two countries in recent years.
China is Iran’s largest oil customer and has maintained close economic and political ties with Tehran despite US sanctions. Beijing has repeatedly called for de-escalation in the region while opposing unilateral sanctions and military pressure.
The Strait of Hormuz, which connects the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Sea, handles roughly a fifth of global oil shipments. Any prolonged disruption would pose risks to China’s energy security and the global economy.
Analysts cautioned, however, that Trump’s account reflected his own characterisation of the exchange and that Beijing has so far publicly maintained a more restrained position on the conflict.
“These are Trump’s own words describing a private exchange with Xi,” said Melanie Sisson of the Brookings Institution, adding that she had not seen anything comparable issued publicly by China.
“China’s position from the beginning of the war has been that it’s not giving military equipment to Iran. So Xi saying as much directly to Trump might be nothing more than a restatement of a pre-existing position,” she said.
Sisson added that Beijing appeared willing to exercise its influence with Tehran only through diplomacy.
“China does have influence with Iran,” she said, noting that the passage of Chinese ships through the strait on Wednesday was likely intended to signal that point. “But China cannot – and will not – push Iran to abandon its core war aims.”
Still, analysts said Beijing’s growing diplomatic involvement reflected both its expanding global ambitions and its interest in preventing a regional crisis that could threaten energy markets and economic growth.
Ian Lesser of the German Marshall Fund said Beijing’s ties with Tehran gave it meaningful leverage if it chose to use it.
“This would be a matter of influence Beijing can certainly bring to bear on Iranian policy,” he said, citing China’s energy, commercial and defence-industrial ties with Iran.
China previously brokered the restoration of diplomatic ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia in 2023, a breakthrough Beijing has frequently cited as evidence it can play a constructive role in Middle East diplomacy.
Yet the emerging cooperation on global issues did little to erase long-standing tensions at the core of the bilateral relationship.
Taiwan remained a central fault line during the summit.
George Chen, partner at the Asia Group, said Xi had paired reassurances to American businesses with an uncompromising message on Taiwan.
“Politically, the message was unequivocal: everything begins with Taiwan,” Chen said. “There was no ambiguity, no softening – just a direct restatement of China’s core position.”
Wendy Cutler, senior vice-president at the Asia Society Policy Institute, said Xi’s warnings on Taiwan contrasted sharply with the summit’s “pageantry and nice words” about improving economic ties.
“From Beijing’s perspective, the US and China can enjoy smoother economic relations provided Washington gives China more breathing room on Taiwan,” Cutler said.
Chinese state media accounts of the meeting highlighted Xi’s warning that mishandling Taiwan could lead to “clashes and even conflicts”, while Trump publicly avoided detailed discussion of the issue.
Trump did not elaborate on whether Xi’s offer regarding Iran could evolve into a direct mediation effort or whether Chinese officials were already engaged in discussions with Tehran related to US negotiations.
But analysts said the exchange itself reflected an important shift: even as strategic rivalry persists, Washington and Beijing are increasingly being pulled into conversations about managing shared global risks ranging from regional wars to energy security and economic disruption.
Additional reporting by Dewey Sim -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
