Trump, Xi discuss Middle East war as Iran presses 7-day plan to end fighting

WASHINGTON/UNITED NATIONS (Reuters): US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping turned to the Middle East war at their summit on Friday, as Iran pressed Washington to accept a seven-day plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and halt regional fighting.

China is highly dependent on the flow of Middle Eastern oil, which has been disrupted by Iranian threats on tankers leaving the Strait of Hormuz and the advance of Iranian-allied Houthis along chokepoints in the Red Sea.

Xi urged the United States and Iran to return to the June framework agreement that led to a short-lived ceasefire and continue negotiations toward a broader settlement, according to China's state news agency Xinhua.

Trump, meanwhile, warned Xi against providing support to Iran and received assurances that China would not do so, the US ambassador to China said on Friday, the final day of Xi's three-day state visit.