Strait of Hormuz dispute won’t delay Trump’s visit to China, Bessent says
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Strait of Hormuz dispute won’t delay Trump’s visit to China, Bessent says
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday dispelled a “false narrative” that President Donald Trump would delay his upcoming trip to China because of a dispute over the Strait of Hormuz.
In a new interview with the Financial Times, Trump suggested he would postpone his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping as the United States seeks China’s help to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The body of water, one of the world’s most important chokepoints, is effectively blocked amid the joint U.S.-Israel operation in Iran.
Bessent confirmed the Trump-Xi meeting may be delayed, but for a different reason.
“If the meetings are delayed, it wouldn’t be delayed because the president demanded that China police the Strait of Hormuz,” he said on CNBC’s Squawk Box. “If the meeting, for some reason, is rescheduled, it would be rescheduled because of logistics.”
Trump would likely want to remain in the U.S. to monitor the Middle East conflict and avoid travel as international tensions escalate, according to the secretary.
“The president wants to remain in D.C. to coordinate the war effort, and traveling abroad at a time like this may not be optimal,” he said.
With the conflict now in its third week, Trump is pressuring allies to help the U.S. reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The president has said he is trying to form a coalition to achieve this goal. Trump didn’t specify which countries might answer his call, but said he has approached “about seven” with the idea.
An announcement on the proposed coalition is expected this week, according to the Wall Street Journal.
While it remains to be seen whether China joins this coalition, Bessent said the U.S. and China currently have a “stable relationship” as their trade partnership continues.
The Treasury chief is in Paris to facilitate economic talks between the two countries. Bessent said a joint U.S.-China trade statement will be forthcoming in the next few days.
Asked whether a pause or delay of the Trump-Xi meeting means there will be a brewing conflict between their respective nations, Bessent replied, “absolutely not.”
Trump’s visit to China is presently scheduled for March 31 to April 2. If unchanged, the trip would mark the first official visit to Beijing by an American president since Trump’s last trip there in 2017. Trump has said he will host Xi at the White House later this year.
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