As China buys 90 per cent of Iran’s oil to meet 40 per cent of its consumption, it was fair to assume that China would take some interest in trying to see traffic resume unhindered
US President Donald Trump may have had four Ts uppermost on his mind while travelling to meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing — Trade, Tariffs, Tehran and Taiwan. Billed as the most consequential meeting in years between the world’s top economic powers, it may have ended up as an underwhelming event if not for the bonhomie that seemed the biggest takeaway for both sides.
There was very little by way of tangible outcomes, not only for the US but also for the world itself if it had reason to believe Mr Trump could convince China into playing a big mediatory role in bringing the Iran war towards a close by getting the Strait of Hormuz opened. As China buys 90 per cent of Iran’s oil to meet 40 per cent of its consumption, it was fair to assume that China would take some interest in trying to see traffic resume unhindered.
While concerns over trade with China represents a point of tension and it was open to Mr Trump to interpret what Mr Xi may have said about the United States being a declining nation as seen in the demise of the post-World War II order, the world may have been more taken with what China could potentially do to bring about an end to the conflict in West Asia which Mr Trump seems incapable of doing on his own.
The roseate picture Mr Trump may have painted in his trademark bravado after grand shows of affability between him and Mr Xi Jinping in two full days of meetings, banquets and visits to the Temple of Heaven and the Chinese Communist party’s secret compound in Zhongnanhai collides with the truth that the prickliest issues remain unresolved, including China’s stand on the self-governing island of Taiwan over which Mr Xi issued a stern ‘keep off’ warning to the US.
Speaking more in line with China’s aspirations to be considered an equal to the US, Beijing said the two countries were entering “new orientation” which it termed as “constructive strategic stability” and which it expected would last at least three years. This must have come as a shock to Mr Trump who had adopted a deferential posture in his interactions with Mr Xi, showering praise on their friendship. Such an attitude was far removed from the transactional dealings to which he reduced many of his meetings with the leadership of the rest of the world.
Maybe, Mr Trump did convince China, the world’s largest aviation market, to commit to buy 200 Boeing aircraft. There was, however, no firm word regarding things like American corn and beef that the US had lined up hopefully as products that China would buy to the tune of at least $30 billion in an attempt to revive trade that is yet to attain old highs despite the truce on tariffs the two leaders had agreed upon when they met last in South Korea in October 2025.
Had the two nations been able to forge deals about resuming their trade at scale, India might have been pushed to compete harder to sort out its export problem with US tariffs even as its status as a “China Plus One” manufacturing destination takes a hit. In the absence of constructive outcomes from Beijing meetings, India would be free to pursue its objective of setting its US trade on an even keel.
The absence of firm indications of China helping with the straitened situation in the Strait of Hormuz means India would have to bear more pain from the chokepoint syndrome that has skewed its oil supply as well as that of much of the world.
