President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping concluded a two-day summit in Beijing on Thursday, May 14, 2026, with both sides agreeing that the Strait of Hormuz must remain open to support the free flow of energy and that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. The agreement, according to a White House readout, marked the clearest signal yet that the world’s two largest economies are aligned on the central question driving the eleven-week energy shock that has lifted Brent above $100 per barrel.
Trump told Fox News that Xi offered to help broker peace with Iran. “He said, ‘I would love to be a help, if I can be of any help whatsoever,’” Trump said of Xi. Trump added that Xi assured him China would not provide military equipment to Iran: “He said he’s not going to give military equipment. That’s a big statement.” The assurance, however, stopped short of addressing broader questions about Chinese support for Iran including intelligence sharing or electronics exports.
The White House readout said Xi reiterated Beijing’s opposition to the militarization of the Strait of Hormuz and to any effort to charge a toll for its use — both elements of the standoff that have emerged as central obstacles to ending the conflict. Iran has reportedly sought to implement a transit toll system, which the U.S. has rejected as a precondition. Xi also expressed interest in purchasing more American crude oil to reduce China’s dependence on Persian Gulf supply over time.
On the U.S. side, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent framed the summit’s significance bluntly in a Thursday CNBC interview. “It’s very much in their interest to get the strait reopened,” Bessent told CNBC’s Joe Kernen. “I think they will be working behind the scenes to the extent anyone has any say over the Iranian leadership. China has a much bigger interest in reopening the strait than the U.S. does.” China is the largest crude oil importer in the world and a major buyer of Iranian crude.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio had framed the U.S. position similarly in a pre-summit Fox News interview that aired before the bilateral meeting. “It’s in their interest to resolve this,” Rubio said of Beijing. “We hope to convince them to play a more active role in getting Iran to walk away from what they’re doing now and trying to do now in the Persian Gulf.”
The Chinese readout of the meeting was notably more restrained on Iran. State news agency Xinhua said only that the two leaders “exchanged views on major international and regional issues, such as the Middle East situation,” without mentioning Iran’s nuclear program or the Strait of Hormuz by name. The asymmetry between the two readouts is consistent with prior expert assessments that Beijing wants to avoid being pulled too deeply into the conflict and continues to view its resolution as primarily America’s problem to solve.
Following the summit, Trump indicated he was running out of patience with Iran and warned Tehran to reach a deal or face “annihilation.” Trump told reporters: “We may have to do a little cleanup work because we had a month-long ceasefire.” The administration has reportedly proposed a 20-year verified moratorium on Iran’s nuclear program and the surrender of all highly enriched uranium as conditions to end hostilities, with Pakistan acting as an intermediary.
Market reaction to the summit was muted. WTI crude traded near $103.50 Friday morning, on track for a roughly 10% weekly gain. Brent traded near $106.90. Both benchmarks remain elevated reflecting persistent uncertainty over the timing and conditions of a Hormuz reopening. For continuing coverage, see our geopolitics dashboard and live oil prices.