Chinese President Xi Jinping has vowed not to offer Iran military assistance, according to President Donald Trump.
Trump, who is halfway through a two-day bilateral summit with Xi in Beijing, sat for an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity during the trip.
“They’re not fighting a war with us,” he told the Fox host when asked to characterize his conversations with Xi regarding the conflict. “He said he’s not going to give them military equipment. That’s a big statement. He said that strongly.”
“At the same time, [Xi] said, you know, they buy a lot of their oil there, and they’d like to keep doing that,” the president said. “He’d like to see Hormuz Strait opened. I said, ‘Well, we didn’t stop it. They did, and then we stopped them.’ It’s sort of interesting.
Trump additionally claimed that Xi expressed displeasure with Iran’s recent implementation of tolls on commerce through the international waterway.
Prior to departing the White House for Beijing, Trump told reporters that he didn’t require Xi’s aid to end the Israel-U.S. war with Iran.
TRUMP AND XI GO BIG ON THE POMP BUT LIGHT ON THE SUBSTANCE
“We’ll win it one way or the other. We’ll win it peacefully or otherwise,” the president said at the time. “[Iran’s] Navy is gone. Their air force is gone. Every single element of their war machine is gone. They’ll either do the right thing, or we’re just going to finish the job.”
The president’s full interview will be aired on Fox News on Thursday at 9 pm EST.