Trump Asks China To Delay Beijing Trip 'By A Month Or So' Amid Iran War: 'I Want To Be Here'

Last Updated:March 17, 2026, 04:15 IST

Trump said he has asked China to delay his upcoming visit "by a month or so" as the Iran war entered its 17th day with no clear end in sight.

US President Donald Trump on Monday said he wants to delay his highly-anticipated trip to China “by a month or so" due to the ongoing war in Iran.

“We’re speaking to China. I would love to, but because of the war, I want to be here," he told reporters at the White House. “We have requested that we delay it a month or so, and I’m looking forward to meeting with him."

“We’ve got a war going on. I think it’s important that I be here. So it could be that we delay it a little bit, not much," Trump added. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt had earlier said Trump’s March 31-April 2 visit to China could be delayed.

The possible delay comes as Trump has urged China to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, saying that the US would like to know Beijing’s position on that before the summit. “I think China should help too because China gets 90% of its oil from the Straits," he told the Financial Times.

The delay also risks magnifying tensions between Washington and Beijing, as the Iran war has also become one of the major issues, alongside trade and Taiwan, between the world’s two biggest economies.

ALSO READ: ‘We Beat The Crap Out Of Them’: Trump Says US Attack On Iran Averted ‘World War III’

China On Strait Of Hormuz

China, which imported around 12 million barrels of oil daily from the Gulf region in the first two ​months of 2026, has not directly responded to Trump’s request to secure the Strait of Hormuz, which has been virtually closed since the beginning of the Iran conflict.

A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington told CNN that China wants an immediate cession of hostilities, and that “all parties have the responsibility to ensure stable and unimpeded energy supply."

Iran, meanwhile, has pushed back against US pressure. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told CBS News that Tehran has been approached by several countries seeking safe passage for their vessels and said Iran’s military has allowed ships from “different countries" to transit the strait.

Iran’s ambassador to India, Mohammad ⁠Fathali, said Tehran had allowed some Indian vessels to pass through the Strait of Hormuz in a rare exception to the blockade. China is in talks with Iran to allow crude oil and Qatari liquified natural gas carriers safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, according to Reuters.

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