Trump to Ask Xi Jinping to Help "Pressure" Iran to Open Hormuz Strait Again

JAKARTA - US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessentmengatakan Presiden AS Donald Trumpakan mendorong Presiden China Xi Jinpinguntuk lebih menekan Iran agar membuka kembali Selat Hormuzdi tengah meningkatnya ketegangan di Timur Tengah.

This is planned to be done when the two leaders meet in Beijing next week.

In an interview with Fox News, Bessent said Trump and Xi had discussed the Iranian war situation via phone calls and correspondence. It was reported by RIA Novosti, Tuesday, May 5, Bessent did not reveal when Trump and Xi's communication took place.

"Let's see them increase diplomatic efforts and make Iran open the strait," Bessent said, quoted by ANTARA.

He added that China buys 90 percent of Iran's energy exports and funds the country's largest terrorism sponsors.

While stressing that the United States now controls the strait, Bessent also called on China to join the Americans in the international operation to restore commercial shipping on the waterway that is vital to global energy supplies.

The statement came a day after Trump announced a new initiative called Project Freedom to guide stranded commercial vessels through the narrow shipping route. The Strait of Hormuz has effectively been closed by Iran since the United States and Israel began the war in late February.

Meanwhile, the US military on Monday (4/5) said two US-flagged merchant ships had successfully passed through the sea lanes between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.

However, Iran, which has threatened to attack ships trying to pass through the narrow point without permission, denied that any transit voyages had been carried out.

Since Trump announced the operation, fighting has again escalated in the Middle East, with Iran launching its first missile and drone attack on the United Arab Emirates (UAE) since a ceasefire with the United States was imposed about a month ago.

Trump also said on social media that Iran had fired on a South Korean cargo ship and other targets unrelated to the new US maritime operation.

"Maybe it's time for South Korea to come and join this mission," Trump said, adding that the United States had destroyed seven small Iranian boats.

Amid the war and instability in the Middle East, Trump previously postponed his trip to China - the first visit by an incumbent US president in more than eight years - from an originally scheduled March 31 to April 2.

In the meeting, now scheduled for May 14-15, Bessent said the Trump administration wants to maintain a stable relationship with Beijing.

"We have good stability in this relationship and it comes from a sense of mutual respect between the two leaders," Bessent said.

Trump also said at a White House event he hoped to meet Xi soon on a visit he called "very important."

Although there are still many unresolved trade and other issues, Trump's attitude towards China has softened significantly since his meeting with Xi in South Korea in October 2025.

Without directly mentioning China in the context of the Iran war, Trump claimed the United States was leading in the field of artificial intelligence, but the two countries had a very friendly rivalry.