Beijing said on Monday it is in talks with Washington over an expected visit by US President Donald Trump, who has pressured NATO allies including China to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Trade is set to take centre stage in the potential talks between President Xi Jinping and Trump later this month, though White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the meeting “could be delayed” over the Iran war.
Earlier, Trump had suggested he may delay a meeting with Xi if Beijing does not assist in reopening the strait, and warned that not abiding by his request would be “very bad for the future of NATO”.
The waterway, critical to oil transportation, has been effectively closed by Iran in retaliation over the US and Israeli war against Tehran.
Beijing’s foreign ministry said on Monday that Beijing and Washington “are maintaining communication regarding President Trump’s visit to China”.
“Head-of-state diplomacy plays an irreplaceable strategic guiding role in China-US relations,” spokesman Lin Jian told a press conference.
Lin did not address Trump’s recent pressure on NATO allies and China.
The “tense situation” in the strait has “disrupted international trade routes for goods and energy”, Lin said when asked about Trump’s comments.
Washington has said Trump will visit China from March 31 to April 2, although Beijing has yet to confirm those dates in line with its usual practice.
Top US and Chinese economic officials concluded trade talks in Paris over the weekend in a meeting widely seen as laying the groundwork for Trump’s visit.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent met Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer also attending, according to his office.
Both sides called the meetings “constructive”, with Beijing’s top trade negotiator Li Chenggang saying they were “in-depth” and candid.
Li said both China and the United States agreed stable bilateral economic trade relations were beneficial to both sides and the world, state news agency Xinhua reported.
The two delegations discussed establishing a bilateral working mechanism to promote cooperation in trade and investment, Li added.
The meeting follows a turbulent year in US-China economic ties since Trump returned to the presidency.
The United States announced new trade investigations last week into excess industrial capacity, targeting 60 economies including China and other key partners.
The probes will look into “failures to take action on forced labor” and whether these burden or restrict US commerce, according to US officials.
The move opens the door to new penalties, prompting China’s criticism earlier Thursday of “political manipulation”.
Beijing said on Monday that it “lodged representations” and urged Washington to “correct its erroneous” trade practices.
“We urge the US side to immediately correct its erroneous ways, meet China halfway... and resolve issues through dialogue and negotiations,” Beijing’s commerce ministry said in a statement.
The latest round of investigations “is extremely unilateral, arbitrary and discriminatory”, it said, accusing Washington of “attempting to construct trade barriers”.
Li also reiterated on Monday that China firmly opposed such “unilateral” probes, Xinhua reported.
“We are concerned over the potential disruption and damage that the possible outcomes of these investigations could inflict upon the hard-won, stable economic and trade relationship between China and the United States,” Li added, according to Xinhua.
Global oil prices have surged by 40 to 50 percent since the war began, with Hormuz choked off and Iran’s attacks on energy and shipping industry targets in its Gulf neighbours.
Experts say that China, which maintains large oil reserves, is better equipped than many other nations to deal with the impact of the war.
But it has reason to be concerned about the consequences of the situation in the Middle East on trade.
China’s official trade data for January and February, before the war in Iran began, showed that the country’s economy is largely buoyed by exports and international trade.
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