Trump aims to postpone China meeting with Xi

US President Donald Trump announced on Monday that he plans to postpone his high-profile visit to China later this month by roughly a month due to the ongoing war in Iran.

“We’ve requested that we delay it a month or so,” Trump told reporters at the White House, emphasizing the importance of staying in the US to manage the conflict.

The meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping was originally scheduled for March 31 to April 2, following their last in-person talks in October of last year.

Chinese foreign affairs spokesperson Lin Jian said on Tuesday that Beijing and Washington are discussing “the timing and related matters of President Trump’s visit to China.”

The Iran war has overtaken many of Trump’s other foreign policy priorities, with the intensifying conflict and disruptions to global oil supplies threatening to push up energy prices in the US.

Trump stressed that the delay was intended solely to ensure he could remain available to oversee the war. “I’m looking forward to being with him,” he said of Xi. “We have a very good relationship. There’s no tricks to it either… We’ve got a war going on. I think it’s important that I be here.”

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent added that the postponement was not linked to any request for China to assist in the Gulf or trade disagreements. “The President wants to remain in DC to coordinate the war effort… Travelling abroad at a time like this may not be optimal,” he said.

This comes a day after Trump indicated he might delay the trip if China did not help ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for Gulf energy shipments. He also called on other countries to assist with securing transit through the channel.

The situation has heightened tensions between the world’s two largest economies. China, a major buyer of Iranian energy, has criticized US and Israeli military actions against the country.

In parallel, Washington has announced plans to investigate trade practices in several countries, including China, following the Supreme Court’s February ruling against Trump’s tariff policy.

US and Chinese officials recently met in Paris to discuss investments, tariffs, and economic sanctions. Chinese trade representative Li Chenggang said the talks produced agreement on some issues and that negotiations would continue. US officials updated their Chinese counterparts on changes to Washington’s tariff measures, while China expressed “serious concern” about potential trade probes and urged the US to maintain economic stability.