U.S. President Donald Trump pressured China to cooperate in an operation to secure the safety of oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, even raising the possibility of delaying a U.S.-China summit.
In a phone interview with the Financial Times (FT) on the 15th, local time, President Trump said, "China gets 90% of its oil through this strait (the Strait of Hormuz), so it should help," emphasizing that China should take part in the operation to escort ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
He also said of the U.S.-China summit, about two weeks away, "Two weeks is a long time," adding, "It could be delayed." He suggested the schedule could be pushed back if China does not give an answer on whether it will join the escort operation in the Strait of Hormuz before the summit.
Earlier, through the social media platform Truth Social, President Trump effectively called on five countries—Korea, China, Japan, the United Kingdom, and France—to dispatch warships to the Strait of Hormuz, a key chokepoint for global energy transport. He explained, "It is appropriate for the beneficiaries of the Strait of Hormuz to help ensure that nothing bad happens there."
Regarding the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), he said, "If there is no response or a negative reaction, it will have a very bad impact on NATO's future," adding, "We didn't need to help them on the Ukraine issue, but we did. Now we'll see if they help us."