Administration

Trump: China ‘very happy’ that US efforts will reopen Strait

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by Julia Manchester - 04/15/26 8:48 AM ET

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by Julia Manchester - 04/15/26 8:48 AM ET

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President Donald Trump, left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping pose ahead of their summit talk at Gimhae International Airport in Busan, South Korea, Oct. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File

President Trump insisted Wednesday that he is “permanently” opening Iran’s Strait of Hormuz, saying that China was “happy” about the decision and in exchange Beijing would no longer send weapons to Tehran.

But his statement leaves a host of questions hanging in the balance on just what he means by opening the strait after he imposed a blockade on ships going to and from Iranian ports earlier this week. Iran had already significantly reduced traffic in the strait during the war.

“China is very happy that I am permanently opening the Strait of Hormuz. I am doing it for them, also – And the World. This situation will never happen again,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday ahead of U.S. markets opening.

“They [China] have agreed not to send weapons to Iran. President Xi will give me a big, fat, hug when I get there in a few weeks. We are working together smartly, and very well!” the president continued in the post.

The U.S. military, meanwhile, announced that it turned around six merchant vessels and “completely” halted trade from Iran’s ports

The Chinese have recently voiced both sides to end hostilities and open the strait where they get much of their energy supplies.

The Hill has reached out to the White House for clarification on whether the president was opening the lane only for China or if he is allowing ships flagged to other countries.

Trump’s Truth Social post echoes comments he made earlier in an interview with Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo on “Mornings with Maria,” in which he said Chinese President Xi Jinping denied that he was supplying weapons to Iran.

“He just wrote me a beautiful letter,” Trump said, saying Xi was responding to a letter he wrote because he heard China was supplying Iran with weapons.

“I wrote him a letter asking him not to do that, and he wrote me a letter saying essentially he’s not doing that,” he said.

The president’s comments come after reports surfaced earlier this week U.S. intelligence agencies received information in recent weeks suggesting that Beijing may have sent a shipment of missiles to Tehran. The New York Times reported that the intelligence is not definitive, and that there is no evidence that Chinese missiles have been used against American or Israeli forces during the conflict.

Trump also addressed a China-linked cyber attack into an internal agency system, which the FBI deemed earlier this month “a major incident.”

“We do it to them. They do it to us. We do it to them,” Trump said. “It is what it is. China’s China. They’re never easy, but we’re doing great with China. I’m the toughest person on China anywhere in the world.”

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