Global Times: US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday rejected a Financial Times report that Trump threatened to delay his China visit if Beijing does not assist the Strait of Hormuz escort effort, saying that US President Donald Trump’s visit to China could be delayed if he chooses to stay in Washington due to war on Iran.
“But what I do want to parse, and there’s a false narrative out there that if the meetings are delayed, it wouldn’t be delayed because the president’s demanded that China police the Straits of Hormuz,” Bessent said in an interview with CNBC’s Brian Sullivan in Paris.
When reporter asked that “there was a report out to that effect this morning,” Bessent replied that “That’s completely false.” “If the meeting for some reason is rescheduled, it would be rescheduled because of logistics. The president wants to remain in D.C. to coordinate the war effort and that, you know, traveling abroad at a time like this may not be optimal,” Bessent noted.
Bessent’s remarks came after the UK media Financial Times published an article with the US president, saying that Trump was expecting China to help unblock the Strait of Hormuz before he travels to Beijing at the end of this month, his first trip to China in his second term.
Jumping on the Financial Times report, some foreign media outlets, such as BBC, started to hype that “Trump told the Financial Times that he might postpone the meeting if China did not help unblock the Strait of Hormuz – a critical waterway for the Gulf’s energy shipments.” The New York Times also followed suit, saying “President Trump warned that he could postpone a meeting set to begin in just over two weeks if China refuses to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz.”
When asked in the Oval Office on Monday afternoon if his trip to China was still on, Trump said, “I don’t know, we’re working on that right now.” “We’re speaking to China. I’d love to, but because of the war, I want to be here. I have to be here, I feel,” Trump said. “And so, we’ve requested that we delay it a month or so,” Trump said, according to CNBC.
“There’s no tricks to it either,” Trump added. “It’s very simple. We’ve got a war going on. I think it’s important that I be here.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt likewise said Monday that changing the dates of Trump’s trip to Beijing is “really just a matter of the timing” and the president is primarily focused on the war with Iran.
“Of course, the president’s utmost responsibility right now as commander-in-chief is to ensure the continued success of Operation Epic Fury, as he is doing 24/7 here at the White House, here at home,” she added. “So we’ll look forward to announcing those dates very soon.”
Leavitt said Sunday an upcoming visit of Trump to China is not “in jeopardy,” but she acknowledged it could be rescheduled amid the US-Israeli war with Iran, according to the Hill.
China and the US are in communication with each other regarding US President Donald Trump’s China visit, Lin Jian, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Monday. Lin made the remarks at a daily press briefing in response to a related query, adding head-of-state diplomacy plays an irreplaceable strategic leading role in China-US relations, per Xinhua.
The Financial Times report leaves readers with the impression that Trump is pressuring China to help the US reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which is misleading, said Li Haidong, a professor at China Foreign Affairs University. The framing reflects what he described as attempts to shift responsibility for the US-Israel conflict with Iran onto Beijing, Li told the Global Times.
Subsequent clarifications from US officials suggest Washington does not intend to link China-US relations to its strikes on Iran, Li said. Washington understands the importance of its relationship with China and knows that dragging it into the Middle East conflicct would serve neither country’s interests, he said.
