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President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he is delaying a diplomatic trip to China that had been planned for months, moving the visit to a later date as the war in Iran drives U.S. priorities. Trump told reporters that he would go to Beijing “in five or six weeks’ time” rather than at the end of the month, and he said he would “resetting” the trip with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The remarks came as Trump met with Ireland’s Prime Minister Micheál Martin in the Oval Office, according to the Associated Press. In that meeting, Trump said the change was connected to the demands created by Iran’s war and that he expects both sides to move forward with the visit after the timing is adjusted.
Trump said the scheduling shift reflects how his broader Iran strategy has been unfolding. In a Sunday interview with the Financial Times, he said he wanted to know whether Beijing would help secure the Strait of Hormuz before he left for the late-March summit, and on Monday he told reporters he had requested a delay of about a month because of the demands of the war.
Speaking with reporters, Trump said, “I think it’s important that I be here,” and he added that the trip delay might not be long—“it could be that we delay a little bit. Not much.” He also said, at the White House on Monday, that he was urging nations that depend on Middle Eastern oil to help police the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway through which about one-fifth of the world’s traded oil usually flows.
As part of that effort, Trump singled out China, saying it gets much of its oil from the strait while the United States gets a minimal amount. He also appealed to Japan, South Korea, Britain and France, and the Associated Press reported that there had been “no takers” so far while China remained noncommittal.
Trump framed the war as a favor to the world carried out by the United States and Israel, with an argument that other countries now need to “do their share” to protect the strait. The Associated Press reported that some world leaders have directly rebuffed that notion and objected to a U.S. military approach.
The change in travel plans also highlights how the China visit is being set against a backdrop of U.S.-China diplomacy and a trade truce. Trump’s trip to China has been seen as an opportunity to build on a fragile trade agreement between the two superpowers, including a one-year trade truce Trump and Xi agreed to last fall, and a state visit that Trump later arranged for Beijing.
China has signaled interest in continuity, with the Associated Press reporting that China’s foreign minister said last week the country looks forward to a “landmark year” in its relationship with the United States and that China’s attitude “has always been positive and open.” Trump’s priorities have shifted as the Iran war has contributed to rising oil prices during what the Associated Press described as a tough midterm year for American voters focused on affordability.
After talks intended to pave the way for Trump’s trip, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said any changes to the schedule would be because of logistics, not because Trump is trying to pressure Beijing. Bessent met with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in Paris for a new round of talks, the Associated Press reported, as Trump’s China timeline moved in response to the evolving Iran situation.
In addition to delaying the China trip, Trump also has been taking other steps in the Associated Press account, including lifting sanctions on Russia’s oil and tapping into U.S. oil reserves—actions the report said he had previously objected to.