US urges China to back its ‘most crushing economic operation’ against Iran

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent tells Beijing to ‘get with the programme’ and support Washington’s campaign to isolate Iran economically3-MIN READ3-MIN0ListenPublished: 2:53am, 21 Aug 2026Updated: 3:35am, 21 Aug 2026US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Thursday urged China to join Washington’s latest efforts to economically pressure and isolate Iran after negotiations to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the six-month conflict collapsed.“Keep in mind, the Chinese get 50 per cent of their energy from the Gulf. So, it would do them a big service to get with the programme,” Bessent told CNBC when asked whether the new economic sanctions would include China.Bessent also said that “many conversations are best to have in private”, underscoring the sensitivity of the issue ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s expected visit to Washington in September.Gulf countries – dominated by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – accounted for 27.6 per cent of China’s total crude imports in July, according to official customs data released on Thursday.Bessent added that both allies and adversaries will be forced to choose sides in Washington’s latest campaign to isolate Iran economically, and he will share more details at a press conference next Monday.00:59Trump thanks China’s Xi, Russia’s Putin for being ‘neutral’ in Iran war“This is going to be the greatest coordinated economic isolation in the history of the world. And we are going to them and saying you are either with us or against us,” he said.