Trump says China summit is delayed to focus on Iran war

President Trump said Tuesday that he has postponed his planned summit in China later this month because of the U.S. war with Iran.

“We’re resetting the meeting, and it looks like that it’ll take place in about five weeks. We’re working with China. They were fine with it,” Mr. Trump told reporters during a White House meeting with Irish leader Michael Martin.

Mr. Trump said that Chinese President Xi Jinping “looks forward to seeing me — I think.”

Administration officials, including White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, in recent days signaled that the Iran war could disrupt plans for the high-profile summit in Beijing, which was initially scheduled for March 31 — April 2.

Mr. Trump had also floated the delay as an effort to exert pressure on China to assist in the effort to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, although the administration has said the rescheduling is the result of the time and focus required for the Iran war.

Mr. Trump on Sunday told the Financial Times that Beijing — a top buyer of Iranian oil exports that has spoken out against the war — should help the U.S. break Iran’s de facto blockade of the Strait, a transit route for about one-fifth of the world’s oil.

He said waiting until after the summit would be too late.

Since the start of the war on Feb. 28, the price of oil has soared above $100 a barrel as Israel keeps targeting Iranian oil facilities and the U.S. hit sites on Kharg Island, where about 90% of Iran’s oil exports are processed.

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Iran has retaliated by effectively closing the Strait and launching missile drone strikes against the oil infrastructure of U.S. allies in the Middle East.

• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.