Donald Trump said he could delay his planned summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping if Beijing doesn't help unblock the Strait of Hormuz, the Financial Times reported, citing an interview with the US president.
“It's only appropriate that people who are the beneficiaries of the strait will help to make sure that nothing bad happens there,” Trump told the paper, stressing China's dependence on oil from the Middle East. Waiting until Trump's trip to Beijing for the summit at the end of the month would be too late, he said.
Trump's warning comes as top Chinese and US trade negotiators are meeting in Paris to set the table for the Trump-Xi summit. Trump administration officials have said they are engaging with allies including UK, South Korea and Japan to secure the strait, a key waterway for transport of energy products as well as other international trade.
China, the single biggest user of oil that passes through the strait, has vast stockpiles that should help it manage any supply interruption. While China has condemned Trump's war on Iran, it has shown few signs that it would back out of the summit as it seeks to stabilize relations with the world's biggest economy.
ALSO READ: Trump Demands Help From Other Countries To Secure Strait Of Hormuz
China's Foreign Ministry didn't immediately reply to a request for comment made outside working hours.
Trump has a long history of making threats to call off deals in the final stages of negotiating, a move that he has used as a way to gain more leverage. Trump made a similar threat weeks before a planned meeting with Xi in October, accompanied by steep tariff-hike proposals. The meeting ultimately went ahead and extended an uneasy trade war truce.
Any delay in the summit could end up being a win for China, which had initially asked for the summit to be held later in April to allow more time for preparations and talks between officials from both sides to hammer out economic and diplomatic deals.
The leaders' summit is currently slated for March 31 to April 2 in Beijing. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and China's Vice Premier He Lifeng are convening in Paris to map out deliverables and discuss thorny issues such as tariffs, fentanyl and Taiwan.
ALSO READ: Trump Calls For Countries To Send Warships To Reopen Hormuz
The US president also issued a warning for European allies, telling the Financial Times that NATO faces a “very bad” future should its member states fail to help on Hormuz.
“Now we'll see if they help us. Because I've long said that we'll be there for them but they won't be there for us. And I'm not sure that they'd be there,” Trump told the paper.
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