BEIJING — The timing of a highly anticipated summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping is in doubt after Trump asked to delay it by “a month or so” so he can focus on the widening war with Iran.
It’s the latest complication from the U.S.-Israeli attack on Tehran, which has close ties with Beijing, as the conflict adds another possible point of tension between America and China.
The summit was meant to focus on trade, as both Trump and Xi seek to extend a delicate tariff truce between the world’s two biggest economies. But China showed little immediate sign that it was bothered by the likely delay, which analysts said may actually prove beneficial to efforts to further stabilize relations.
Trump said Monday that his China trip planned for later this month could be postponed because of the war, telling reporters in Washington, “I think it’s important that I be here.” But his administration has not confirmed that the trip is delayed or shared more specific dates for when it would be rescheduled.
Beijing did little to clarify the situation Tuesday, with the Chinese Foreign Ministry saying it had “no further information at this time.”
“China and the United States are maintaining communication regarding the timing of President Trump’s visit to China and other related issues,” spokesperson Lin Jian told reporters at a regular news briefing in Beijing, repeating a line from the day before.
The White House had said Trump would be traveling from March 31 to April 2. China had not yet confirmed the dates.
With global shipping and energy prices upended by Iran’s effective shutdown of the crucial Strait of Hormuz, Trump has been trying 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 was going to help and suggested that he might delay the trip.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent sought to clarify that postponing the trip “would have nothing to do with the Chinese making a commitment to the Strait of Hormuz.” Trump later said there were “no tricks to it” and that he looked forward to the trip.
China also says the visit has nothing to do with the strait and has been outwardly unruffled by the uncertainty around Trump’s plans.
Far from being upset by a possible delay, China “might actually be a little relieved,” said Dominic Chiu, a senior analyst for U.S.-China relations at Eurasia Group.
“From what I understand, preparations for the Trump state visit have been going pretty poorly,” he told NBC News in an interview.
Even before the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran began Feb. 28, there was reportedly “a lack of coordination on the side of the White House to come up with concrete deliverables, to gather a potential business delegation to accompany Trump to China,” Chiu said.
If the summit is delayed, “that gives both sides a bit more time to talk,” he said.
Neil Thomas, a fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute’s Center for China Analysis, agreed.
“From China’s perspective, there’s been a lot of concern in Beijing about the lack of preparations from the American side for the summit so Chinese policymakers wouldn’t mind an extra few weeks to prepare for a more substantive visit,” he told Reuters.
“Trump is preoccupied with a war in Iran that has not been resolved as quickly as predicted,” Thomas said, “which means planning a successful visit to Beijing is next to impossible.”
Though the latest round of U.S.-China trade talks appeared to go well, it ended Monday in Paris without any public announcements. Expectations for the Trump-Xi summit, which comes after years of turbulence in U.S.-China relations, have generally been low.
“I think a grand bargain is increasingly unlikely,” Chiu said.
Instead, he said, the U.S. and China will focus on the “lowest-hanging fruits” they can offer each other, such as Chinese pledges to buy more U.S. agricultural and energy products, or to further crack down on the international flow of fentanyl ingredients.
With many of Trump’s global tariffs recently struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court, Beijing also sees the summit as an opportunity to negotiate lower rates, Chiu said.
Though Beijing has publicly criticized new Section 301 trade investigations the Trump administration has opened against China and other countries as it tries to replace those tariffs, it appears to consider them a “manageable irritant,” he said.
And while China is concerned about the supply of oil and gas through the Strait of Hormuz, “I don’t think they are exactly wringing their hands over it,” Chiu said.
Though Trump said Monday that China — the world’s largest energy importer — gets over 90% of its oil through the strait, experts put the figure closer to half. China is also a major producer of oil and gas in its own right and has been building up its strategic oil reserves.
Some of its oil is also still getting 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 an end to the blockade.
“China has got enough for the next few months,” Huxley said. “But the longer this goes on, the more difficult it is.”
Janis Mackey Frayer reported from Beijing, and Jennifer Jett from Hong Kong.
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