Trump China trip complicated by Iran blockade and closed Strait of Hormuz
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Apr 30
Trump China trip complicated by Iran blockade and closed Strait of Hormuz
10 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Apr 30
The two-day Beijing visit is due to start on 14 May, with Xi Jinping pressing Washington to reopen the waterway carrying about a third of China's oil and gas imports.
Trump had delayed the trip six weeks hoping the Iran war would end quickly, but the prolonged closure now threatens to dominate talks meant to advance a US-China rapprochement.
Officials had expected a short campaign to force a nuclear deal and signal US power to Beijing, but the conflict's wider economic fallout has instead become the central issue.
With Iran and the U.S. in a naval standoff, who will blink first to reopen the world's most critical oil chokepoint?
Can Trump secure a trade deal with China while his navy blockades its primary energy lifeline?
As China buys cheap sanctioned oil, is the U.S. blockade accidentally subsidizing its main economic competitor?