Speaking to reporters before leaving for Beijing, Trump said he and Xi would discuss several issues. “We’re going to have a long talk about it,” he said.
China is one of Iran’s main economic partners. It buys much of Iran’s oil and remains a key diplomatic supporter of Tehran.
Trump, however, said China’s role was not necessary in resolving the conflict, which began two and a half months ago with a large-scale US-Israeli attack and later settled into a stalemate over control of the Strait of Hormuz shipping route.
“We have a lot of things to discuss. I wouldn’t say Iran is one of them, to be honest with you, because we have Iran very much under control,” Trump said.
“We’re either going to make a deal or they are going to be decimated.”
Amid reports that China continues to help arm Iran and buy sanctioned Iranian oil, Trump said Xi had “been relatively good.”
“They get a lot of their oil from that area. We’ve had no problem. And he’s been a friend of mine. He’s been somebody that we get along with.”
(With inputs from agencies)
