Trump says he will have ‘long talk’ with Xi about Iran but insists US needs no help

WASHINGTON, United States (MNTV) – President Donald Trump said Tuesday he will hold extensive discussions with Chinese President Xi Jinping about Iran during their upcoming two-day summit in Beijing, while insisting the United States does not require any outside assistance to resolve the conflict.

“We’re going to have a long talk about it. I think he’s been relatively good, to be honest with you. You look at the blockade, no problems. They get a lot of their oil from that area. We’ve had no problem, and he’s been a friend of mine,” Trump told reporters at the White House as he prepared to depart for Beijing. When asked whether Xi needed to intervene with Iran, Trump was dismissive.

“I don’t think we need any help with Iran. We’ll win it one way or the other. We’ll win it peacefully or otherwise,” he said.

China is the dominant buyer of Iranian crude, accounting for roughly 90 percent of Iran’s total oil sales according to maritime intelligence data. Beijing has shown growing willingness to openly defy U.S. sanctions on Iranian oil trade, and earlier this month instructed Chinese companies to disregard US sanctions imposed on five Chinese refineries over their alleged role in facilitating Iranian oil purchases.

Separately on Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged Pakistan to step up its mediation efforts and contribute to resolving issues around the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, state-run Xinhua reported.

Wang made the remarks in a telephone call with Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, with both sides stressing the importance of maintaining a durable ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran and ensuring normal passage through the waterway.

Pakistan brokered a two-week ceasefire on April 8 and hosted the first direct high-level talks between Washington and Tehran since 1979 on April 11-12, which ended without agreement.

Both sides have since been exchanging proposals in an effort to arrange a second round of direct negotiations to end a conflict that has disrupted global energy supplies and daily life across the region.