Trump delays Xi meeting as Iran conflict lets US strong-arm China’s oil supply
President Donald Trump’s decision to delay a planned meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping as the Iran conflict unfolds is raising a new question in Washington: whether pressure on global...
By Fox News · Fox News
President Donald Trump’s decision to delay a planned meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping as the Iran conflict unfolds is raising a new question in Washington: whether pressure on global oil flows could factor into U.S. leverage with Beijing. The summit originally had been planned for March 31 to April 2, but Trump said March 16 that he had asked China to delay it by "a month or so," explaining, "We got a war going on. I think it’s important that I be here." The following day, Trump said the meeting would instead take place in "about five or six weeks," adding, "We’re working with China — they were fine with it." "The president has some things here at home in May that he has to attend to," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters March 16, adding that the two sides would set a date "as soon as we can." US INTEL SOFTENS ON CHINA THREAT, SAYS NO TAIWAN INVASION PLANNED BY 2027 DESPITE MILITARY BUILDUP At the same time, U.S. strikes on Iran — and earlier pressure on Venezuela — have been affecting countries central to China’s energy supply, disrupting shipping and raising costs without fully cutting off flows. China remains the largest buyer of Iranian oil, and shipments are still moving despite the conflict. But increased risk, higher prices and logistical disruptions are squeezing one of Beijing’s most important energy lifelines — raising the prospect that Washington could gain leverage by driving up the cost and risk of the oil China depends on. In recent months, U.S. actions have hit two countries where China has built deep economic ties — Venezuela and Iran, both tied to Beijing through oil and investment. In 2023, China helped broker a deal restoring relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran, a move widely seen as a sign of Beijing’s growing influence in the Middle East . That détente is now under strain as the conflict escalates, exposing the limits of China’s ability to sustain stability once fighting begins. Those developments point to C…