Trump Claims Xi Jinping Offered Assistance to Open the Strait of Hormuz

US President Donald Trump met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, China. During the meeting, Trump claimed that Xi Jinping offered assistance to open the Strait of Hormuz.

According to AFP on Friday (15/5/2026), Trump stated that Chinese President Xi offered help to open the Strait of Hormuz because tensions between Washington and Tehran remain unresolved.

In an interview with Fox News, Trump said Xi “wants to see a deal reached”.

“He did offer, he said, ‘If I can help, I want to help,’” Trump stated.

Trump also hinted that China’s dependence on Iranian oil gives Beijing an interest in keeping the Strait of Hormuz open.

“Anyone buying that much oil clearly has some kind of relationship with them. He wants to see the Strait of Hormuz open,” Trump remarked.

Trump and Xi Jinping Agree on the Strait of Hormuz

Previously, the White House revealed that US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed that the Strait of Hormuz “must remain open” during their talks in Beijing. The White House described the meeting between the two leaders as “going well”.

“Both sides agreed that the Strait of Hormuz must remain open to support free energy flows,” the White House stated, as reported by AFP on Thursday (14/5).

The situation in the waters of the Strait of Hormuz and surrounding areas has heated up since the war raged between the US and Israel against Iran at the end of February.

Tehran blocked transit activities in the Strait of Hormuz – which is usually crossed by one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas shipments – during the war. The US responded by imposing a naval blockade on Iranian ports, although a fragile ceasefire has been in effect since 8 April.