“Both countries agreed that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon.”
That was the White House’s readout of the May 13 meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, conveying at least the U.S. understanding of how the meeting shaped up on the question of the Iran war — and the all-important fate of Iran’s nuclear weapons program.
The U.S. readout of the meeting also emphasized that both sides agreed the Strait of Hormuz needed to be open: “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.”
One of President Trump’s principal aims in the war going back to June 2025’s Operation Midnight Hammer was to eliminate Iran’s capability of producing a nuclear weapon now and in the future. The facilities were destroyed, and through ongoing discussions with Iran in Pakistan, one of the more recently explored items was how to go into Iran to retrieve the nuclear materials — the already-enriched uranium — from those facilities, with either the U.S. or China taking the lead.
Speaking with reporters at the Oval Office on May 11, Trump said, “Iran told me very strongly because they intend to give us the nuclear dust as I call it… But the nuclear dust which is what we hit and they told me number one you’re getting it but you’re going to have to take it out because the site was so obliterated that there’s only one or two countries in the world that could get it. It’s so deep and got hit so hard that there’s no way they have the equipment to move it. You and China are the only two countries in the world that could take it out. So, we talked about it and they said, You’ll have to take it out because we… don’t have the capability of doing it.”
But then they changed their minds, and it was not put into writing, Trump noted, stating, “Look, I’ve had to deal with them four or five times. They changed their mind. They’re very dishonorable people, the leadership… [T]these people that you make a deal and then the next day they send you a document … that takes 5 days to get there when it should have been there in 20 minutes. You know, it’s pretty simple document. They will never have a nuclear weapon.”
And so it might be with China. The U.S. readout stated both sides agreed that Iran could not have a nuclear weapon and that the Strait of Hormuz should remain open, but then the same provisions did not appear in the Chinese readout of the bilateral meeting.
To be fair, the Chinese readout emphasized Taiwan: “President Xi stressed that the Taiwan question is the most important issue in China-U.S. relations. If it is handled properly, the bilateral relationship will enjoy overall stability. Otherwise, the two countries will have clashes and even conflicts, putting the entire relationship in great jeopardy. “Taiwan independence” and cross-Strait peace are as irreconcilable as fire and water. Safeguarding peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is the biggest common denominator between China and the U.S. The U.S. side must exercise extra caution in handling the Taiwan question.”
But then the U.S. readout didn’t mention Taiwan at all.
Obviously both Iran and Taiwan were discussed at the meeting, but as is typical in these state visits, each party emphasized their priorities in the readouts. President Trump wanted to talk about Iran, and President Xi wanted to talk about Taiwan. Neither side acknowledged the other side’s priority in the readout.
If anything, the most important thing said Iran was stated by President Trump on May 12 when he told reporters prior to leaving for China that the U.S. would not need China’s help with Iran: “No, I don’t think we need any help with Iran. We’ll win it one way or the other. We’ll win. We’ll win it peacefully or otherwise.”
This was reiterated by Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Marco Rubio in a May 14 interview with NBC News following the bilateral meeting: “We’re not asking for China’s help. We don’t need their help.”
Meaning, if China were to be any help on Iran, Iran’s number one oil customer, it might be via backchannels — if at all. In the meantime, China requires Iran’s oil much less, with exports from Russia, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Iraq, Brazil, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Angola, Kuwait and Canada in addition to Iran.
It appears Iran needs China more than China needs Iran. Sure, China probably could help, but it sounds like the U.S. determined before the meeting there isn’t much in it for Beijing, so why bother asking a question we already know the answer to? It’s a U.S. priority but not necessarily a Chinese priority as it relates to the U.S.-China relationship. If China really needs the Strait of Hormuz open, then it will go tell Iran to knock it off. If not, then maybe they really didn’t care. They can figure that out for themselves.
That appears very similar to the ongoing negotiations with Iran over the nuclear weapons and reopening the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. gets verbal assurances of some variety when face to face — the President said the Iranian negotiators repeatedly agreed to get the nuclear materials out — but when it comes time to put it on paper for confirmation, analysts are left to wonder if there was any agreement, and if so, how would it be implemented.
For example, did China agree to help the U.S. get the nuclear materials out of the destroyed and buried nuclear facilities in the mountains of Iran? Or did the parties determine which of them would go in and get the uranium?
As the President said, one way or another, the war with Iran will be ended, either diplomatically or militarily, on America’s terms — not in Beijing.
Robert Romano is the Executive Director of Americans for Limited Government Foundation.
