President Donald Trump revealed on Wednesday that he exchanged letters with Chinese President Xi Jinping regarding the supply of weapons to Iran, and announced that China committed to not sending arms to the Iranian regime in exchange for Washington keeping the Strait of Hormuz open.
Trump made the announcement in an interview with Fox Business Network and elaborated on it on his social media platform Truth Social, where he wrote: "China is very happy that I am permanently opening the Strait of Hormuz. I am doing this for them as well, and for the world. This situation will never happen again. They have agreed not to send weapons to Iran."
In the television interview, Trump explained the origin of the correspondence: "President Xi wrote me a beautiful letter. He responded to a letter I wrote because I had heard that China was sending weapons to Iran. I wrote to him asking him not to do that, and he responded by saying that he is essentially not doing that".
The announcement represents a significant diplomatic shift during a high-intensity crisis that began on March 4, when Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz using mines, drones, and missiles, halting 97% of maritime traffic, stranding around 2,000 vessels with 20,000 sailors and causing the price of Brent crude to surge from 67 to over 126 dollars per barrel.
The strait is the most critical energy artery in the world: it transports 20% of global oil and almost half of China's crude oil imports, equivalent to 1.71 million barrels per day from Iran.
Last week, on April 12, Trump ordered a naval blockade against ships entering or leaving Iranian ports, following 20 hours of failed peace negotiations in Islamabad over the Iranian nuclear program.
Days earlier, on April 8, Trump had threatened with tariffs of 50% on any country that supplied arms to Iran, directly targeting China and Russia. On April 12, he warned Beijing of "big problems" due to reports that it was preparing shipments of portable anti-aircraft missiles to Iran through third countries.
China responded on Tuesday condemning the naval blockade as "dangerous and irresponsible" and warning of countermeasures, although its tankers continued to navigate the strait.
In his post on Truth Social, Trump described the relationship with Xi in optimistic terms: "We are working together smartly and very well. Isn't that better than fighting?" He added that the United States is "very good at fighting, if necessary, much better than anyone else."
Trump also noted in the interview that the war with Iran is "very close to ending" and that he hopes for the resumption of peace talks, a perspective that aligns with the assessment of the UN, which stated yesterday that it is "very likely" that negotiations will resume between Washington and Tehran.
The exchange of letters occurs one month before the bilateral summit scheduled for May 14 and 15 in Beijing, which Trump has described as "transcendental" and "monumental," and during which topics such as trade, technology, Taiwan, and the conflict in the Middle East will be discussed.
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