Trump, Xi Agreed Strait Of Hormuz ‘Must Remain Open’ — White House

On Thursday, US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping had a “good” meeting, agreeing that the Strait of Hormuz “must remain open,” according to the White House.

Since the war with the United States and Israel broke out on February 28, Iran has largely blocked shipping through the crucial waterway, a route that normally carries about a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas.

“The two sides agreed that the Strait of Hormuz must remain open to support the free flow of energy,” the White House said.

China is directly affected by the lack of petroleum crossing the Strait of Hormuz.

More than half of the crude imported by sea to China comes from the Middle East and mainly transits through the strait, according to maritime analytics firm Kpler.

The White House reported that Xi showed interest in buying more American oil to help lessen China’s reliance on the strait in the future.

Beijing’s own readout of the meeting did not mention any such interest.

For its part, the White House statement did not mention any discussions between the two leaders on Taiwan, the self-ruled island claimed by Beijing and a sensitive subject in US-China diplomacy.

Xi earlier warned that “conflict” between China and the United States could break out, should the issue be mishandled, Chinese state media had reported.