Trump’s China trip thrown into doubt by Iran war, but Beijing doesn’t seem to mind waiting

BEIJING — The timetable for a highly anticipated summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping is uncertain after Trump asked to delay it for “about a month” so he can focus on the widening war with Iran.

It is the latest complication in the U.S.-Israeli attack on Tehran, which has close ties to Beijing, as the conflict adds another possible point of tension between America and China.

The summit was supposed to focus on trade, as Trump and Xi both seek to extend a delicate tariff truce between the world’s two largest economies. But China showed no immediate signs of concern over the likely delay, which NBC News analysts say could actually prove beneficial to efforts to further stabilize relations.

Trump said Monday that his trip to China planned for later this month could be postponed because of the war, telling reporters in Washington: “I think it’s important that I’m here.” But his administration did not confirm that the trip was delayed or share more specific dates for when it would be rescheduled.

Beijing did little to clarify the situation on Tuesday, with China’s Foreign Ministry saying it had “no further information at this time.”

“China and the United States maintain communication regarding the timing of President Trump’s visit to China and other related issues,” spokesperson Lin Jian told reporters at a regular press briefing in Beijing, repeating a line from the day before.

The White House had announced that Trump would travel from March 31 to April 2. China had not yet confirmed the dates.

As global shipping and energy prices have been upended by Iran’s effective closure of the crucial Strait of Hormuz, Trump has sought to enlist naval support from countries that import oil and gas through the waterway. On Sunday, he told the Financial Times that he would “like to know” whether China would help and suggested he might delay the trip.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent sought to clarify that postponing the trip “would have nothing to do with Chinese engagement in the Strait of Hormuz.” Trump later said there were “no tricks” and that he was looking forward to the trip.

China also says the visit had nothing to do with the strait and was apparently unfazed by the uncertainty surrounding Trump’s plans.

Far from being upset about a possible delay, China “might actually be a little relieved,” said Dominic Chiu, senior analyst of U.S.-China relations at Eurasia Group.

“From what I understand, preparations for Trump’s state visit are going pretty poorly,” he told NBC News in an interview.

Even before the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran began on Feb. 28, there was reportedly “a lack of coordination from the White House to come up with concrete outcomes and assemble a possible trade delegation to accompany Trump to China,” Chiu said.

If the summit is delayed, “it gives both sides a little more time to talk,” he said.

Other analysts agreed.

“Right now, the war in Iran is clearly the Trump administration’s top foreign policy priority, so I doubt Beijing will interpret a U.S. delay as an intentional negotiating tactic,” said Austin Strange, associate professor of politics at the University of Hong Kong.

“In principle, China would still want a more stable and positive relationship with the United States and should be willing to reschedule a Trump visit to China, particularly compared to Beijing’s much less realistic request to help escort commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz,” Strange said in emailed comments.

Although the latest round of trade talks between the United States and China appeared to have gone well, it ended Monday in Paris without any public announcement. Expectations for the Trump-Xi summit, which comes after years of turmoil in U.S.-China relations, are generally low.

“I think a major deal is increasingly unlikely,” Chiu said.

Instead, he said, the United States and China will focus on the “low-hanging fruit” they can offer each other, such as Chinese promises to buy more American agricultural and energy products, or further crackdown on the international flow of fentanyl ingredients.

While many of Trump’s global tariffs were recently struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court, Beijing also views the summit as an opportunity to negotiate lower rates, Chiu said.

Although Beijing has publicly criticized new Section 301 trade investigations that the Trump administration has opened against China and other countries as it attempts to replace those tariffs, it appears to view them as a “manageable irritant,” he said.

And while China is concerned about oil and gas supplies through the Strait of Hormuz, “I don’t think they’re really worried about it,” Chiu said.

Although Trump said Monday that China — the world’s largest energy importer — moves more than 90% of its oil through the strait, experts put the figure at nearly half. China is also a major producer of oil and gas and has increased its strategic oil reserves.

Some of its oil also continues to pass through the strait, said Tim Huxley, director of Mandarin Shipping in Hong Kong. But even if its energy supply is relatively secure, China would still prefer to end the blockade.

“China has enough for the next few months,” Huxley said. “But the longer it goes on, the harder it gets.”

Janis Mackey Frayer reported from Beijing and Jennifer Jett from Hong Kong.