Saturday, May 16th 2026 - 03:12 UTC
Xi described the visit as “historic” and “emblematic” and said the two leaders had set a new course based on a “constructive relationship of strategic stability between China and the US”
US President Donald Trump on Friday concluded his state visit to China of less than 48 hours without substantial announcements on the main points of the bilateral agenda, although he described the encounter as “very successful” and “unforgettable” and said he had reached “fantastic” trade deals whose details were not disclosed. The final day of the trip, held at Zhongnanhai, the residence of the Chinese Communist Party leadership, produced as its most visible outcome an offer by Chinese President Xi Jinping to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, closed by Iran since the start of the war in late February.
Trump also announced he would assess in the coming days the possibility of lifting sanctions imposed on Chinese companies that purchase Iranian crude, in what would amount to one of the most significant potential concessions to emerge from the summit. The US president called his Chinese counterpart an “old friend,” expressed his wish to receive him in Washington, and said both sides had reached “a series of important consensuses.” The most geopolitically relevant of them was the shared view that Iran should not possess nuclear weapons, a common stance on one of the most critical flashpoints in the Middle East.
