Trump Requests to Delay China Visit by a Month Due to Iran War

Donald Trump has asked to push back his planned trip to Beijing by roughly a month, saying the Iran war means he needs to stay close to home, although the delay also arrives amid rising tensions between Washington and Beijing over the conflict.

The visit had been scheduled for 31st March to 2nd April, when Trump was due to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping for their first face-to-face talks since October. Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday: "We've requested that we delay it a month or so. There's no tricks to it either. It's very simple. We've got a war going on. I think it's important that I be here."

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, speaking from Paris where he was holding trade talks with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, sought to pre-empt any suggestion the delay was a pressure tactic. "The president wants to remain in DC to coordinate the war effort," Bessent said. "Travelling abroad at a time like this may not be optimal." He added that the postponement had nothing to do with China's response to US requests over the Strait of Hormuz, or any trade disputes.

That framing followed a report in the Financial Times on Sunday that Trump had said he wanted China to help reopen the Strait before the summit. Trump appeared to walk that back on Monday, insisting the delay was purely about managing the war. "I'm looking forward to being with him," he said of Xi. "We have a very good relationship."

Beijing's response was carefully worded. Foreign affairs spokesman Lin Jian said the two sides were in discussions over "the timing and related matters of President Trump's visit to China," and rejected any link between the delay and the Strait of Hormuz. "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," Jian said. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the trip would still go ahead, saying: "The president looks forward to visiting China. The dates may be moved."

The postponement lands at a delicate moment. China has condemned the US-Israeli strikes on Iran as violations of international law and has defended Iran's sovereignty, while Beijing is also a major buyer of Iranian energy. With the Strait of Hormuz effectively shut down since the war began, China's oil supply is also under strain. The country imported around 12 million barrels per day in the first two months of the year, the most of any nation, with roughly half coming from the Middle East. Reports last week indicated some ships transiting the Strait had begun identifying themselves as Chinese-linked to avoid being targeted.

Trump has called on multiple countries including China, France, Japan, South Korea and the UK to help secure safe passage through the waterway, but the request has largely gone unanswered. China has not directly responded, with its Washington embassy saying only that it wanted hostilities to cease. Energy Secretary Chris Wright told NBC News he expected China would ultimately be "a constructive partner."

Meanwhile, the Paris trade talks produced some tentative progress. Chinese negotiators showed openness to additional purchases of US agricultural goods including poultry, beef and non-soya bean crops, according to one source. The two sides also discussed the flow of rare earth minerals which is largely under Chinese control and new approaches to managing bilateral trade and investment. China's trade representative Li Chenggang said the sides had reached consensus on some issues and would continue negotiations, while also expressing "serious concern" about Washington's plans to investigate China's trade practices following the Supreme Court's striking down of Trump's tariff regime last month.