Trump Repeats War Threats Against Iran Ahead of Meeting With Xi

On 13 May 2026, Trump headed to China for a summit with Xi, with the Iran war, trade, Taiwan and AI on the agenda. Bloomberg reported that Trump repeated war threats against Iran ahead of the meeting. Trump said he does not need Xi's help on the Iran war, while Frankfurter Allgemeine reported that Trump said Xi had offered help in the Iran war.

Rubio said China has an 'interest to resolve' the Gulf turmoil and that the US will push China to take a more 'active role' in Iran negotiations. Al Jazeera and NDTV published analyses saying that China's help on Iran may require US concessions and that Beijing has other plans.