Trump: Xi Jinping Agrees Iran Must Reopen Strait of Hormuz

U.S. President Donald Trump stated that Chinese President Xi Jinping agrees that Iran must reopen the Strait of Hormuz. However, the Chinese side has not explicitly stated it will intervene in the matter. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One after his two-day meeting with Xi in Beijing, Trump said he is considering lifting sanctions on Chinese companies that purchase Iranian crude oil. When asked if Xi had committed to pressuring Iran, Trump said, 'I'm not asking for help... because when you ask for favors, you have to return them.' Following a US-Israeli airstrike on Iran on February 28, Iran effectively blocked the key shipping lane. Before the war, the strait was responsible for about one-fifth of the world's oil and LNG transport, and its closure has now triggered the most severe oil supply crisis in history.