May 15, 2026 | 06:23 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - US President Donald Trump, claimed on Thursday, May 14, 2026, that the Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged that Beijing wouldn't provide military equipment to Iran. As reported by Anadolu, Trump also claimed that Xi expressed support for keeping the Strait of Hormuz open.“When you say ‘support,’ they’re not fighting a war with us or anything,” Trump said when asked if he discussed China's support for Iran when he met Xi on Thursday morning in Beijing, during an interview with FOX News.“He said he’s not gonna give military equipment. That’s a big statement,” Trump said, referring to Xi.Trump also claimed that Xi told him that China wants the Strait of Hormuz to remain open because Beijing buys a large amount of oil from that region.“He said they buy a lot of their oil there, and they’d like to keep doing that,” said Trump, adding that Xi “would like to see the Hormuz Strait open.”“President Xi would like to see a deal made. He said, 'If I can be of any help at all, I would like to be of help.' Anybody that buys that much oil has obviously got some kind of relationship, but he'd like to see the Hormuz Strait open,” he added.The Chinese government did not immediately respond to Trump's claims.A summary of the conversation released by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not mention Iran or the Strait of Hormuz. The statement said the two leaders exchanged views on “major international and regional issues, such as the Middle East situation, the Ukraine crisis, and the Korean Peninsula.”Chinese Vessels Pass Through HormuzIn a separate interview as reported by Al Jazeera, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he believes Beijing will "do what they can" to open the waterway. According to Bessent, this is "very much in their interests."Since the US-Israeli attacks on Iran began in late February, Tehran has almost entirely closed the strait in response. This has disrupted global energy supplies and raised fuel prices as oil tankers remain unable to pass through it.Under a specific agreement, Iran has allowed some shipping vessels to sail through the key waterway.On Wednesday, a Chinese oil tanker passed through the strait, according to shipping data seen by Reuters. Iran's Fars news agency also reported on Thursday that there's an agreement to allow some Chinese ships to pass through.Furthermore, Iran's state broadcaster, IRIB, reported that around 30 ships had passed through the strait since Wednesday night.Read: Xi and Trump: Strait of Hormuz Must Remain OpenClick here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News
