Iran war hangs over China summit

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.WASHINGTON—As the heads of the world’s two superpowers meet in Beijing this week, President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping will have another nation looming over their summit: Iran.The long anticipated meeting has already been delayed once due to the U.S. and Israel’s war against Iran, which has led to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump is eager to move on from the Middle East war that is sapping his domestic power and straining the global economy.He will land in Beijing prepared to push China, which relies on Iran for low-cost oil in their transactional relationship, to help broker an agreement that ends the conflict, according to U.S. officials.Xi also wants the fighting to stop, as Middle East turmoil restricts China’s oil supply and shrinks countries’ ability to buy Chinese goods.

Finding a resolution could raise Xi’s stature as a global statesman who swooped in at the precipice of a possible military escalation, analysts and U.S. officials said.Trump on Friday threatened to resume “Project Freedom,” the U.S.-led operation to help ships navigate the strait safely, adding this time that the operation would include “other things.”The president on Sunday said a multipage response that Iran sent to the U.S.

proposal to end the war, which didn’t include commitments about Tehran’s nuclear program, was unacceptable.Senior U.S. officials insist the crisis in the strait and Tehran’s refusal to make nuclear concessions will prove an afterthought once Trump and Xi step into the Great Hall for trade talks.