Trump, Xi agree Strait of Hormuz must stay open, White House says

US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping agreed in a meeting that the Strait of Hormuz must be open for the free flow of energy, according to a White House readout of the summit on Thursday.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told NBC News that China and the US agree that the Strait of Hormuz shouldn’t be “militarized” and that no tolling system should be in place. Iran is a major ally of China.

“The Chinese side said they are not in favor of militarizing the Straits of Hormuz, and they’re not in favor of a tolling system, and that’s our position,” the top US diplomat told NBC in Beijing after Trump, Xi and their delegations held more than two hours of talks.

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Iran has largely blocked shipping through the Strait of Hormuz -- which normally carries one fifth of the world’s oil and LNG shipments -- since the outbreak of war with the United States and Israel on February 28.

The United States has imposed its own naval blockade on Iranian ports despite a fragile ceasefire in place since April 8.

Trump and Xi also discussed building on progress in ending the flow of fentanyl precursor chemicals into the US, as well as increasing Chinese purchases of US agricultural products, the statement said.

Taiwan was not mentioned in the White House summary of the meeting, which it described as “good.”

With agencies

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