AFP News: China said on Tuesday it had “noted” clarifications from the United States about the reasons for a possible delay to a planned visit to Beijing by President Donald Trump. Trump had planned to visit at the end of March, according to the White House, but said on Monday he had asked China to delay his summit with Xi Jinping by around a month while he deals with the war in the Middle East.
“We have noted that the US side has publicly clarified these false reports by the media, stating that the relevant reports are completely wrong, and emphasized that the visit has nothing to do with the issue of the open navigation of the Strait of Hormuz,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said during a news briefing Tuesday.
“Both China and the US are maintaining communications on Trump’s visit to China,” he said, without providing further details. Trump suggested on Sunday his visit could depend on how China responds to his request for it and other countries to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the vital maritime passage that has been effectively closed by Iran in retaliation for US and Israeli strikes.
However, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent rowed back that assertion on Monday, saying that linking the meeting to Trump’s demand for China to help reopen the waterway was a “false narrative”. About a fifth of global oil supplies normally pass through the Strait of Hormuz, and its closure has sent oil prices soaring above $100 a barrel.
Washington has said Trump would visit China from March 31 to April 2 to reset ties and extend a US-China trade truce, although Beijing has not confirmed those dates in line with its usual practice.
