United States and China have agreed that “Iran can’t have nuclear weapons,” and that the Strait of Hormuz must be opened, according to US President Donald Trump. During his three-day state visit to China, President Trump met with his counterpart Xi Jinping. Trump and Jinping discussed the ongoing West Asia war, and other regional issues.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One after departing from China, President Trump claimed that the United States has control over the Strait of Hormuz and said Iran has suffered losses of nearly $500 million per day over the past two-and-a-half weeks due to the US naval blockade in the region.
“I have a lot of respect for him. On Iran, he feels strongly that they can’t have a nuclear weapon–said that very strongly, they can’t have a nuclear weapon–and he wants them to open up the strait. But as he said, they close it and you close them. And it’s true, we (US) control the strait, and they (Iran) have done no business in the last two and a half weeks, which is approximately 500 million dollars a day,” said President Trump.
President Trump further said Chinese President Xi Jinping does not want to see a “fight for independence” in Taiwan because that would be a very strong confrontation.
“We had a great stay; it was an amazing period of time. President Xi is an incredible guy. President Xi and I talked a lot about Taiwan. He thinks they cannot have anything to do with what they’re doing. He’s very much against what they’re doing. We talked about Taiwan and we talked about Iran a lot, and I think we have a very good understanding on both. On Taiwan, he does not want to see a fight for independence because that would be a very strong confrontation. I heard him out. I didn’t make a comment on it, but I heard him out. I have a lot of respect for him,” Trump added.
Trump said that even though he did not say anything about it, Xi had brought it up.
During his interaction with reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump was asked whether he had consulted China regarding arms sales to Taiwan, in reference to the assurances given by former US President Ronald Reagan in 1982 that Washington would not coordinate such matters with Beijing.
He said, “I think 1982 is a long way away. It was a big, far distance. I didn’t say anything about it, but he brought that up. He talked about that being an issue, obviously. So, what am I going to do–say I don’t want to talk to you about it because I have an agreement that was signed in 1982? No, we discussed arms sales too. We discussed Taiwan in great detail, actually. And I’ll be making a decision. The last thing we need right now is a war that’s 9,500 miles away. We’re doing very well.”
