US President Donald Trump claimed Thursday that Chinese President Xi Jinping told him that Beijing would not provide military equipment to Iran and expressed support for keeping the Strait of Hormuz open.
"When you say 'support,' they're not fighting a war with us or anything," Trump said when asked if he discussed China's support for Iran when he met Xi earlier Thursday in Beijing, during an interview with FOX News.
"He said he's not gonna give military equipment. That's a big statement," he said.
Trump also said Xi told him China wants the Strait of Hormuz to remain open because Beijing buys large amounts of oil from the region.
"He said they buy a lot of their oil there, and they'd like to keep doing that," said Trump, adding that Xi "would like to see the Hormuz Strait open."
"President Xi would like to see a deal made. He said, 'If I can be of any help at all, I would like to be of help.' Anybody that buys that much oil has obviously got some kind of relationship, but he'd like to see the Hormuz Strait open," he added.
Chinese authorities did not immediately respond to Trump's claims.
A readout of the talks released by the Chinese Foreign Ministry made no mention of Iran or the Strait of Hormuz. The statement said the two leaders exchanged views on "major international and regional issues, such as the Middle East situation, the Ukraine crisis, and the Korean Peninsula."
