The countdown to next week’s summit between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping has been overtaken by a pointed public appeal from Washington for China to use its leverage over Iran. Scott Bessent, the US Treasury Secretary, declared that America holds “absolute control” over the Strait of Hormuz and urged Beijing to “step up with some diplomacy” to persuade Tehran to reopen the waterway to international shipping. His remarks, delivered in a Fox News interview, underscored the central tension that will dominate the meeting: China’s role as Iran’s economic lifeline, buying roughly 90 per cent of its energy exports, and the Biden-era conflagration that has closed one of the world’s most vital maritime chokepoints.

The conflict that erupted on 28 February between the US-Israel coalition and Iran has given the summit a geopolitical voltage far beyond trade and technology. Viewed from Washington, the Strait of Hormuz is no longer under Iranian control, as Bessent insisted, but the blockade remains a de facto reality that threatens global energy supplies. His call for Chinese assistance was couched in both pressure and invitation: China, he said, is “funding the largest state sponsor of terrorism” but could still join an international operation to restore navigation. The implication is clear – Beijing’s cooperation on Iran may set the tone for any broader understanding between the two powers.

Yet sources in Beijing see the calculus differently. While China remains publicly committed to the summit – postponed once already because of the war – there is a cautious sense of advantage. Multiple local observers note that the prolonged conflict has distracted Washington militarily and diplomatically, giving Xi greater room to negotiate on issues such as high-tech supply chains and Taiwan. As one insider put it to CNN Arabic, the war has given China “the upper hand.” But that leverage is tempered by acute vulnerability: the Strait of Hormuz sits astride China’s own energy lifeline, and any escalation risks direct harm to its interests.

Analysts in London and Paris have focused on the deeper strategic pattern. Le Figaro, for instance, argues that Xi’s long-term, methodical approach contrasts sharply with Trump’s impulsive style, and that China has been quietly capitalising on every American misstep in the Middle East. Moscow’s press, meanwhile, reports that Trump has already promised to remind Xi that the United States leads in artificial intelligence – a hint that competitive dynamics will not be sidelined by regional crises. For his part, Bessent confirmed that Trump and Xi have discussed Iran by telephone, and that the summit in Beijing – the first US presidential visit to China in eight years – will seek to “consolidate” the consensus reached in Busan last October.

What emerges is a summit that may define the near-term trajectory of US-China rivalry. China’s official line remains studiously neutral, but the pressure from Washington is unmistakable: choose a side. Whether Beijing will deploy its diplomatic weight to force open the Strait, or continue to shield its energy supplier while extracting concessions elsewhere, will be the quiet question hanging over every handshake and statement. The outcome, as Bessent acknowledged, will test whether the fragile truce between the world’s two largest economies can withstand the heat of a Middle Eastern war.