BEIJING – President Donald Trump was all but declaring victory Friday, even if he was light on specifics, as he wrapped up a two-day summit in China with President Xi Jinping.
Seated beside the Chinese leader in an ornate meeting room with gold carpet, Trump said he had secured “fantastic” trade deals for both countries and made progress in his effort to enlist Xi’s help in reopening the Strait of Hormuz – though he gave no details.
“This has been an incredible visit,” he said. “I think a lot of good has come of it.”
Trump, who spoke after a private tour of the Chinese Communist Party headquarters and its elaborate gardens, seemed eager to project optimism about this visit and relations in general ahead of talks scheduled to resume when Xi visits the U.S. in September.
“We’ve settled a lot of different problems that other people wouldn’t have been able to settle and the relationship is a very strong one,” he told reporters.
China, which is both an ally of Iran and a major buyer of its oil, called in a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and a diplomatic resolution of the war launched Feb. 28 by the U.S. and Israel.
“It is important to reopen the shipping lanes as soon as possible to respond to the call of the international community and jointly keep the global supply chains stable and unimpeded,” it said in the statement.
Trump told reporters that he and Xi “feel very similar” about Iran.
In an interview with Fox News after his meeting with Xi on Thursday, Trump said that the Chinese leader “would like to see a deal made” between the U.S. and Iran and that he offered to help achieve it, though the foreign ministry’s statement made no mention of any offer.
Trump, along with a delegation of Cabinet officials and business leaders, was scheduled to leave China on Friday.
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