Donald Trump said Sunday that the U.S. is in talks with seven countries about securing the strategic Strait of Hormuz following Operation Epic Fury.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said the U.S. was talking to other countries heavily reliant on Middle East crude to join a coalition to police the waterway, where about one-fifth of the world's traded oil normally flows, but declined to name them.
He, however, said that China, which receives up to 90% of its maritime crude oil shipments through the waterway, was invited to cooperate.
"They get most of their oil, they get a lot, about 90%, from the strait. So I said ‘Would you like to come in?’ And we'll find out. Maybe they will, maybe they won't,” he said.
A Chinese government spokesperson did not respond directly to questions about Trump's request for military support from several countries to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
