US President Donald Trump on Tuesday rejected suggestions that China has challenged his administration over the Iran war, highlighting his “very good relationship” with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping ahead of their planned summit next week.
Speaking at a White House fitness event, Trump told reporters that when it comes to Iran, “we haven’t been challenged by China. They don’t challenge us,” adding that Xi “wouldn’t do that – I don’t think he’d do that because of me.”
Iran is set to be on the agenda when Trump travels to Beijing for talks with Xi on May 14 and 15, which were rescheduled from their original late March date after the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran in a conflict that has spread across the Middle East.
“You know, in all fairness, he gets like 60 per cent of his oil from [the Strait of] Hormuz, and he’s been, I think he’s been very respectful,” Trump said about Xi, adding that “we’ve offered, you know, if he wants to send his ships to the United States.”
The strait, through which one-fifth of the world’s oil transits, has been effectively closed since the end of February, when the war began, sending oil prices soaring and disrupting supply chains.
“I think one of the big things that’s happened is I made a statement, send your ships to Texas. It’s not that much further,” Trump said. “Send your ships to Louisiana. Send your ships to Alaska. Alaska is actually very close to a lot of the Asian countries. People don’t realise it.”
