Trump: Summit With Xi Could Be Delayed, Pending Help on Strait of Hormuz

Donald Trump said an upcoming summit in Beijing with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping could be delayed, as the US president seeks help in reopening the Strait of Hormuz amid the Iran war.

“We’d like to know before (the summit),” Trump said in an interview published Sunday with the Financial Times, adding that “we may delay,” without specifying how long.

He added the United States was in discussions with Iran as the war entered its third week, but that Tehran was not ready for a deal to end it.

“Yes, we’re talking to them,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, without detailing the nature of such talks, when asked if there was any diplomacy underway to end a conflict that has spread across the Middle East and roiled global markets. “But I don’t think they’re ready. But they are getting pretty close,” Trump said.

He reiterated that he had the authority to impose duties despite the US Supreme Court last month striking down his global tariffs. “I have the absolute right to charge TARIFFS in another form, and have already started to do so,” he said in a long post on his Truth Social platform.

Trump imposed a 10 percent tariff on US imports via executive order shortly after the Supreme Court ruling. (AFP)