Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday that during the summit in China, President Donald Trump and administration officials will seek to persuade Chinese President Xi Jinping to take a more active role in efforts to end the conflict involving Iran and restore open maritime access through the Strait of Hormuz.
Speaking to Fox News host Sean Hannity while in Beijing, Rubio said the administration views China as a key stakeholder because of its heavy dependence on energy flowing through the region and its trade ties with Iran.
“The Chinese have ships stuck in the Persian Gulf, because setting up a system that says, ‘We’re going to let certain ships through but others not, it’s easier said than done,’” Rubio said, referring to Iranian military policy regarding transit through the strait.
The Strait of Hormuz remains one of the world’s most critical energy chokepoints, with major portions of global oil shipments passing through it. According to data from the first quarter of 2025 cited by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, China accounted for more than 37 percent of oil transported through the waterway, the largest share of any country. India followed with more than 14 percent, South Korea with 12 percent, Japan with nearly 11 percent, and other Asian nations making up nearly 14 percent. The United States accounted for 2.5 percent.
Rubio argued that the situation carries broader economic risks beyond the Middle East.
“It’s a huge source of instability,” Rubio said of the closure. “It threatens to destabilize Asia more than any other part of the world, because it’s heavily reliant on the straits for energy.”
He also pointed to China’s economic structure as a reason Beijing may have an incentive to engage. “It’s export-driven,” he said, adding that in the event of a global slowdown, countries would “be going to be buying less” Chinese goods.
“So it’s in their interest to resolve this,” Rubio said. “We hope to convince them to play a more active role in getting Iran to walk away from what they’re doing now and trying to do now in the Persian Gulf.”
U.S. officials have increasingly focused on China’s relationship with Tehran. A March report from the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, an independent congressional body, estimated that Chinese purchases account for roughly 90 percent of Iran’s oil exports.
Tensions in the region have also escalated alongside maritime disruptions. Reports indicate that the U.S. Navy has restricted ships from departing Iranian ports for more than a month, actions that have further constrained Tehran’s oil exports.
Xi has not committed Chinese forces to any effort to reopen the strait. At the same time, officials in his government have reportedly advised domestic refineries to disregard sanctions imposed by the U.S. Treasury Department for purchasing Iranian oil.
Separately, The New York Times reported Wednesday, citing U.S. officials, that Chinese companies have discussed potential arms sales with Iran, including proposals to route shipments through third countries.
