US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that China has agreed not to send weapons to its close partner Iran and that he has received personal assurances from President Xi Jinping.
“They have agreed not to send weapons to Iran. President Xi will give me a big, fat hug when I get there in a few weeks,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, referring to his planned May 14-15 summit with Xi in Beijing.
Trump informed Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo in a separate interview aired Wednesday that Xi had “essentially” promised not to deliver weapons.
“I had heard that China’s giving weapons to, I mean — you’re seeing it all over the place — to Iran,” Trump said.
“And I wrote him a letter asking him not to do that, and he wrote me a letter saying that essentially he’s not doing that.”
The war in the Middle East has added tension to the already complicated relationship between the world’s top economic powers.
The Trump-Xi summit had originally been slated for March but was delayed due to Trump’s decision to launch the war.
On Tuesday, China condemned the United States of “dangerous and irresponsible” action over its blockade of Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz, with Xi saying Beijing will play a “constructive role” in advancing Middle Eastern peace.
In his Truth Social post, Trump claimed that “China is very happy that I am permanently opening the Strait of Hormuz. I’m doing it not only for them, but also for the world.”
China is Iran’s largest trading partner and a significant buyer of its oil.
During the Fox interview, Trump was asked about rumors that China had recently launched a big cyber attack on the FBI. He would not directly confirm the report but stated, “We do it to them. They do it to us.”
“China’s China,” he said. “They’re never easy, but we’re doing great with China.”
Trump stated that he was “the toughest person” on China.
