ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE/DUBAI, May 15 (Reuters): US President Donald Trump said his patience with Iran was running out and that Chinese President Xi Jinping had agreed during their talks in Beijing that Tehran must reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump said later that he was considering whether to lift sanctions on Chinese oil companies buying Iranian oil imposed by Washington ahead of his trip to China.
But his comments gave little indication of whether Beijing might use its influence with Tehran to end a conflict it said should never have started.
"We've settled a lot of different problems that other people wouldn't have been able to settle," Trump said on Friday after he met Xi in Beijing on the second day of talks which included the Iran war, Taiwan, trade and other issues.
Xi did not comment on his discussions with Trump about Iran, although China's foreign ministry issued a blunt statement outlining Beijing's frustration with the Iran war.
"This conflict, which should never have happened, has no reason to continue," the ministry said.
Iran effectively shut the strait to most shipping traffic in response to US-Israeli attacks which began on February 28, causing an unprecedented disruption to global energy supplies.
The US paused its attacks on Iran last month but began a blockade of the country's ports. Tehran said it would not unblock the strait until the US ended its blockade. Trump has threatened to attack Iran again if it does not agree a deal.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump left China on Friday with no major breakthroughs on trade or tangible help from Beijing to end the Iran war, despite two days spent heaping praise on his host, Xi Jinping.
Trump's visit to America's main strategic and economic rival, the first by a US president since his last trip in 2017, had aimed for tangible results to beef up his sagging approval ratings before midterm elections.
Earlier, ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE, May 15 (AFP): US President Donald Trump said Friday he discussed the flashpoint issue of Taiwan with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, but made no commitments.
"President Xi and I talked a lot about Taiwan," Trump told reporters onboard Air Force One, on his way back to Washington following a high-stakes summit in Beijing.
"He does not want to see a fight for independence," he added. "I didn't make a comment on it, I heard him out."
