Trump seeks to delay meeting with China’s Xi by ‘month or so’ amid Iran war

The US president delays March 31-April 2 trip to China to focus on the escalating war against Iran.Published On 16 Mar 2026United States President Donald Trump says he is seeking to delay a highly anticipated trip to China in early April by about a month because of the US-Israeli war on Iran.“We’ve requested that we delay it a month ⁠or so,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday.“There’s no tricks to it either,” he added. “It’s very simple. We’ve got a war going on. I think it’s important that I be here.”China’s embassy in Washington, DC, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Trump’s requested delay in his scheduled March 31-April 2 trip to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping underscores how the Iran war has upended his foreign policy agenda.It also risks magnifying tensions ⁠between Washington and Beijing, as the war on Iran has joined trade and Taiwan as among the spectrum of issues separating the world’s two biggest economies.“The president looks forward to visiting China,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.“The dates may be moved. As commander-in-chief, it’s his number-one priority right now to ensure the continued success of this Operation Epic Fury. So we’ll keep you posted on the dates as soon as we can.”Tensions in the Middle East have escalated since the US and Israel launched a large-scale attack on Iran on February 28, killing more than 1,200 people, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.On Sunday, Trump told The Financial Times he might postpone the meeting if China does not help unblock the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran says is closed to US and Israeli-linked vessels.