President Donald Trump told Fox News on Thursday that Chinese President Xi Jinping said he would not provide military equipment to Iran, a statement Trump called “a big statement.” Trump made the remark in an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity, according to Fox News Digital.
The comment came amid U.S. concerns about Chinese support for Iran. U.S. officials have increasingly accused China of helping prop up Iran’s military and economic strength through oil purchases, dual-use exports and intermediary networks, the officials said.
Reuters reported that China purchases roughly $31 billion to $32 billion of Iranian crude annually. Reuters also reported that China’s Commerce Ministry invoked a 2021 “blocking statute” ahead of the summit, directing firms to ignore certain foreign sanctions targeting Iranian oil, a move Washington has criticized.
Trump said Xi also offered to help end the conflict and “if I can be of any help at all, I would like to be of help,” Trump told Hannity. Trump added that Xi told him China buys a lot of Iranian oil and would like to keep doing so, and that Xi “would like to see [the] Hormuz Strait opened,” according to Fox News Digital.
Fox News Digital reported that the two leaders held a bilateral tea meeting Friday morning local time at the Zhongnanhai compound in Beijing. The White House and the Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment, the outlet said.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
