Xi Tells Trump China Opposes Iran’s Hormuz Toll as Chinese Tankers Begin Exiting the Strait
United States President Donald Trump said Thursday that Chinese President Xi Jinping has expressed opposition to Iran charging tolls in the Strait of Hormuz, following a bilateral summit in Beijing. Iran charges these tolls to ships that pass through. The announcement came as Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps simultaneously permitted a number of Chinese vessels to transit the waterway for the first time since the US-Israeli war on Iran disrupted shipping through the strait.
The White House said in a statement posted to its X account on Thursday: “The two sides agreed that the Strait of Hormuz must remain open to support the free flow of energy. President Xi also made clear China’s opposition to the militarization of the Strait and any effort to charge a toll for its use, and he expressed interest in purchasing more American oil to reduce China’s dependence on the Strait in the future.” CBS News
Trump elaborated on the exchange in an interview with Fox News. “He’d like to see the Hormuz Strait open, and said ‘if I can be of any help whatsoever, I would like to help,'” Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity after the two leaders met. Trump also said of Xi: “He said he’s not going to give military equipment… he said that strongly.” middleeasteye
Chinese Vessels Allowed Through
Iran’s IRGC said on Thursday that its naval forces had allowed a number of Chinese ships to pass through the strait. “It was ultimately concluded that a number of Chinese ships requested by this country would pass through this area after an agreement on Iran’s strait management protocols,” the IRGC said in a statement. “This passage began last night,” it added. middleeasteye
Iranian state television said more than 30 ships had been allowed to pass, though it was not immediately clear whether all of them were Chinese. middleeasteye
The passage followed days of diplomatic activity. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing on May 6, with China pushing for an immediate end to hostilities, CNBC reported. A Chinese supertanker — the Yuan Hua Hu, carrying two million barrels of Iraqi crude — had already crossed the waterway on Wednesday, according to shipping data reviewed by Reuters. The vessel passed through the Iranian-controlled Larak corridor without paying tolls. A China Cosco Shipping official told The Wall Street Journal the firm viewed the free passage as a gesture from Tehran timed to the Trump-Xi summit. The Daily CallerThe Daily Caller
Brokers told the Wall Street Journal that a roughly $2 million fee is typically demanded of ships seeking to cross. The Daily Caller
What the IRGC Said
Iran framed the passage as an assertion of its own authority over the waterway rather than a concession. An IRIB correspondent said: “With this, we can say that a new era has begun in the Strait of Hormuz, because now many sailors and countries of the world know that the best, fastest, and easiest way to pass through this very important and strategic waterway is only through coordination with the IRGC Navy.” CBS News
That framing placed Iran at odds with both Washington and Beijing, who agreed that no country should control transit through an international waterway. State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said earlier in the week that Washington and Beijing had already agreed that “no country or organization can be allowed to charge tolls to pass through international waterways like the Strait of Hormuz,” according to the Wall Street Journal. The Daily Caller
Rubio Pushes Back on Xi’s Role
Not everyone in the Trump administration characterised the summit as a joint request for Chinese assistance. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told NBC News that Trump did not ask China for help with Iran during the Beijing summit. “He didn’t ask them for anything,” Rubio said. “We’re not asking for China’s help. We don’t need their help.” Rubio also said the US and China both oppose militarising the Strait of Hormuz and establishing a tolling system for ships transiting the waterway. “We will never support an Iranian tolling system in the straits of Hormuz, nor do we think they have a right to put mines in international waters,” Rubio said. CBS News
Chinese authorities did not immediately respond to Trump’s claims about Xi’s promises. A readout of the talks released by the Chinese Foreign Ministry made no mention of Iran or the Strait of Hormuz. Al Jazeera
Another Vessel Seized
Even as Chinese ships passed through the strait on Thursday, Iran appeared to act against another vessel. The UK Maritime Trade Operations, a British naval agency that monitors regional shipping, reported Thursday that a vessel anchored northeast of Fujairah — the UAE’s primary port for oil exports just outside the strait — had been taken by “unauthorized personnel” and was bound for Iranian territorial waters. The agency did not identify the vessel or say who was responsible. The Philadelphia Inquirer
Windward, a maritime data company, said the incident added to a broader pattern of “coercive maritime activity, and heightened risk for commercial vessels operating around the Gulf of Oman.” India’s Foreign Ministry separately confirmed Thursday that an Indian-flagged ship had been attacked off Oman a day earlier, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. The Philadelphia Inquirer
Maritime analysts urged caution about reading the Chinese vessel transits as a broader reopening. Tomer Raanan, a maritime risk analyst at Lloyd’s List, said it was too early to say whether the move indicated an easing of Iranian restrictions. The bigger issue, he said, was that Iran gets to dictate who passes through the strait, and as long as that is the case, it is “not really open.” The Philadelphia Inquirer
Regional and Global Stakes
According to the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, China purchases about 90 percent of the oil that Iran exports. Analysis from Det Norske Veritas, an independent risk management firm, found that prior to the Iran war, China imported 70 percent of its oil and gas, the majority of which came through the Persian Gulf. CBS News
Since early March, Iran has restricted shipping through the strait, a narrow waterway through which 20 percent of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies were shipped before the war. Al Jazeera
The US said Thursday that CENTCOM forces had redirected 70 commercial vessels and disabled four others to enforce the US naval blockade on ships travelling to or from Iranian ports through the strait. Al Jazeera
Ahmed Aboudouh, an associate fellow at Chatham House and head of the China Studies research unit at the Emirates Policy Center, told Middle East Eye before the summit that the two powers share a core interest. “China and the US are aligned in opposing Iran having nuclear weapons and seeing the Strait of Hormuz reopened,” he said. middleeasteye
Background
The US-Israeli war on Iran was in its 77th day at the time of the Trump-Xi summit. Iran has allowed passage to vessels from select countries throughout the conflict, but requires those ships to negotiate transit with the IRGC. In April, the US announced a naval blockade on ships entering or leaving Iranian ports, compounding disruptions to global energy markets. The International Monetary Fund’s World Economic Outlook, published last month, predicted global growth would drop to 3.1 percent in 2026 in its reference scenario, warning of a bleaker 2.5 percent outcome if higher oil prices persist and financial conditions tighten. Middle East Eye previously reported that China had supplied Iran with air defence systems after the June 2025 Israel-Iran conflict, and provided kamikaze drones on the cusp of the 2026 attack. Al JazeeraCBS News
What Happens Next
Washington and Tehran remain far apart on the conditions for a peace deal. The US wants Iran to hand over its enriched uranium; Iran is demanding a lifting of sanctions and recognition of its sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz. There was little evidence after the Trump-Xi summit that the two major powers had forged a concrete agreement on how to end the war. Trump said in his Fox News interview that he was “not going to be much more patient” on reaching a peace deal with Iran, according to CBS News. China’s expression of interest in purchasing more US oil to reduce Gulf dependence remains unconfirmed by Beijing. Whether the IRGC continues to grant selective passage to Chinese vessels — or extends similar arrangements to other countries — will depend on future coordination between Tehran and Beijing, according to Middle East Eye. Al JazeeraAl Jazeera
