China under pressure as Trump ties high-stakes summit to Strait of Hormuz crisis
Beijing is being forced to weigh its reliance on stable energy routes against its tradition of non-interference, analysts say
China, the world’s largest buyer of Gulf oil, is now being forced to weigh its economic reliance on stable energy routes against its tradition of non‑interference in diplomacy, according to observers.
While Beijing is eager to host Trump for a strategically important summit later this month, observers said China was unwilling to be seen as yielding to pressure and being drawn into a US-led military intervention, or allowing the visit to be used as leverage.
“It’s only appropriate that people who are the beneficiaries of the strait will help to make sure that nothing bad happens there,” Trump said in the interview, echoing his call a day earlier demanding that US allies and Beijing send warships to the key shipping route, through which about 20 per cent of the world’s oil supply flows.
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs pushed back against Trump’s threat on Monday, reiterating its call for de-escalation in the Middle East while stressing the “irreplaceable” role of head‑of‑state diplomacy and underscoring the importance Beijing attached to Trump’s planned trip.