Bessent Says Iran War May Delay Trump’s China Visit

Trump has suggested that he may postpone his meeting with Xi, while he called on Beijing to help open the Strait of Hormuz.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (L) addresses journalists next to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer following a new round of trade discussions with Chinese officials at the OECD Headquarters in Paris on March 16, 2026. Ludovic Marin/ AFP via Getty Images

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on March 16 that if President Donald Trump wants to stay in Washington to coordinate the war in Iran, he may postpone his scheduled meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing at the end of this month.

“There’s a false narrative out there that if the meetings are delayed, it wouldn’t be delayed because the president demanded that China police the Strait of Hormuz,” Bessent told CNBC.