U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said Washington hopes to convince Beijing during the talks between President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart to play a “more active role” in resolving the Iran war crisis.
Mr. Trump arrived in Beijing last night for a three-day visit during which he is scheduled to have several rounds of talks with Mr. Xi. Mr. Trump was welcomed by Chinese Vice President Han Zheng at the airport, a rare honour that broke with usual diplomatic protocol.
Speaking to Fox News aboard Air Force One on the way to Beijing, Mr. Rubio said the Iran war was a “huge source of instability” and “threatens to destabilise Asia more than any other part of the world because it’s heavily reliant on the straits for energy”.
Donald Trump eyes deal in Beijing as China gauges U.S. ‘decline’
"It's in (China’s) interest to resolve this. We hope to convince them to play a more active role in getting Iran to walk away from what they’re doing now and trying to do now in the Persian Gulf,” he said, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported on Thursday (May 14, 2026).
