Trump says Xi agrees Iran must open strait, but no sign China will weigh in

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the press aboard Air Force One enroute to the U.S. following his official visit with President Xi Jinping in China, May 15, 2026. Evan Vucci | Reuters ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE/DUBAI, May ⁠16 (Reuters) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Chinese President Xi Jinping had agreed Tehran must reopen the Strait of Hormuz, though China gave no indication it would weigh in. Flying back from Beijing on Friday after two ​days of talks with Xi, Trump said he was ​considering whether to lift U.S. sanctions on Chinese ​oil companies buying Iranian oil. China is the biggest buyer of Iranian oil. "I'm not asking for any favors because when you ask for favors, you have to do favors in return," Trump said when asked by a reporter on Air Force One whether Xi had made a firm commitment to put pressure on the Iranians to reopen the strait. Xi did not ⁠comment ‌on his discussions with Trump about Iran, although China's foreign ministry criticized the war, calling ⁠it a conflict "which should never have happened, has no reason to continue". 'We want the straits open' Iran has effectively shut the strait, which carried one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supply before the U.S. and Israel launched attacks on February 28. The disruption to shipping has caused the biggest oil supply crisis in history, pushing up oil prices. …