China's 80% Grip on Iranian Oil Looms Over Trump-Xi Summit

Ahead of a high-stakes US-China summit planned for September 24 at the White House, Beijing appears to be spotlighting its influence over Iran to gain leverage during negotiations with its chief geopolitical rival. Expectations for a US-China breakthrough on Iran at the upcoming summit in Washington are low. Trump has signaled a focus on economic outcomes for this meeting with Xi and the Chinese leader has reciprocated by assembling a delegation of top business executives. But in the run-up to the meeting, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghch in Beijing on September 16. The meeting was the fourth time the two men have spoken in the past three months. During their meeting, Wang noted that Beijing and Tehran are "comprehensive strategic partners," an asymmetric relationship that favors Beijing.