US President Donald Trump said on Monday that he is planning to delay a high stakes visit to China later in March by about a month because of the Iran war.
“We’ve requested that we delay it a month or so,” he told reporters at the White House, adding that it was important that he remained available to oversee the war.
The meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping is currently set to take place between 31 March to 2 April, following their last face to face talks in October last year.
The Chinese embassy in Washington told the BBC that it had seen the reports regarding the meeting but did not have any information to provide.
The Iran war has eclipsed most of Trump’s other foreign policy priorities, faced with an intensifying conflict and disruptions to the global oil supply, which has threatened to raise prices in the US.
Trump said he had proposed the delay solely to make sure he was around to manage the war.
“I’m looking forward to being with him,” he said, referring to Xi. “We have a very good relationship.”
“There’s no tricks to it either,” Trump added. “It’s very simple. We’ve got a war going on. I think it’s important that I be here.”
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday that the meeting’s delay would not be due to Washington’s request that Beijing help in the Gulf, or any trade disagreements.
Bessent said: “The President wants to remain in DC to coordinate the war effort… Travelling abroad at a time like this may not be optimal.”
The latest development comes a day after Trump told the Financial Times that he might postpone the meeting if China did not help unblock the Strait of Hormuz – a critical waterway for the Gulf’s energy shipments.
He also called on other nations to help ships transit safely through the channel.
Trump’s remarks come as frictions between the world’s two largest economies have grown, fuelled by the Iran war.
Beijing is a major buyer of Iranian energy exports and has criticised the US and Israeli strikes against the country.
Washington also announced it would investigate trade practices among a list of countries, including China, after Trump’s signature tariff policy was struck down by the Supreme Court in February.
Representatives from the US and China have met in Paris in recent days for negotiations, such as over investments, tariffs and economic sanctions.
