China takes note of US ‘clarifications’ on possible Trump visit delay
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US President Donald Trump (left) had asked China to delay his summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping by around a month.
PHOTO: REUTERS
BEIJING – China said on March 17 that it had “noted” clarifications from the US about the reasons for a possible delay to a planned visit to Beijing by US President Donald Trump.
Mr Trump had planned to visit at the end of March, according to the White House, but said on March 16 that he had asked China to delay his summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping by around a month while he deals with the war in the Middle East.
“We have noted that the US side has publicly clarified these false reports by the media, stating that the relevant reports are completely wrong, and emphasised that the visit has nothing to do with the issue of the open navigation of the Strait of Hormuz,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said during a news briefing on March 17.
“Both China and the US are maintaining communications on Trump’s visit to China,” he said, without providing further details.
Mr Trump suggested on March 15 that his visit could depend on how China responds to his request for it and other countries to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the vital maritime passage that has been effectively closed by Iran in retaliation for US and Israeli strikes.
But US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent rowed back that assertion on March 16, saying that linking the meeting to Mr Trump’s demand for China to help reopen the waterway was a “false narrative”.
About a fifth of global oil supplies normally pass through the Strait of Hormuz, and its closure has sent oil prices soaring above US$100 a barrel.
Washington has said that Mr Trump would visit China from March 31 to April 2 to reset ties and extend a US-China trade truce, although Beijing has not confirmed those dates in line with its usual practice. AFP
