As President Donald Trump meets face-to-face with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, his administration is making an aggressive push to recruit America’s top economic rival into the fight against Iranian aggression in the Persian Gulf.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio revealed Thursday that the Trump administration is working to convince China to take a more “active role” in peace negotiations between the U.S. and Iran. The pitch centers on a simple reality: both superpowers need the Strait of Hormuz open for business.
The narrow waterway carries roughly 20% of the world’s crude oil. Right now, Iran’s actions are choking that vital artery, and the consequences are rippling across the globe.
“We’ve made the argument to the Chinese, and I hope it’s compelling, and they’ll have a chance to do something about it at the United Nations later this week when there’s a resolution just condemning Iran on what they’re doing with the straits,” Rubio told Fox News host Sean Hannity during a Thursday interview.
The Secretary of State laid out the case in stark economic terms that Beijing can’t ignore. Chinese ships are currently stuck in the Persian Gulf. The blockade is destabilizing Asia. And China’s entire economic model depends on exports flowing freely across international waters.
“So it’s in their interest to resolve this, and we hope to convince them to play a more active role in getting Iran to walk away from what they’re doing now and trying to do now in the Persian Gulf,” Rubio said.
The diplomatic gambit comes as Trump sits down with Xi at a summit covering a range of economic and political issues. The Iran situation adds another layer of complexity to an already tense relationship between Washington and Beijing.
For years, China has maintained close economic ties with Tehran, often serving as a lifeline for the Iranian regime when Western sanctions squeezed hard. Getting Xi to pressure Iran represents a significant shift in strategy, one that acknowledges China’s growing influence in the Middle East while also testing whether Beijing will prioritize its own economic interests over its relationship with the Islamic Republic.
The timing is deliberate. A United Nations resolution condemning Iran’s actions in the strait is expected later this week, giving China an immediate opportunity to signal which side it’s on. How Beijing votes, or whether it abstains, will tell the Trump administration whether its overtures are gaining traction.
The Strait of Hormuz has long been a flashpoint for international tension. The narrow passage between Iran and Oman connects the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the broader Arabian Sea. Any disruption there sends shockwaves through global energy markets, hitting consumers and businesses worldwide.
