Trump downplays US-Iran differences as he heads to Beijing to meet with Xi

Donald Trump gives conflicting messages on prominence of Iran-war" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="38748" data-entity-type="event">Iran war in upcoming talks, with his administration emphasising trade.United States President Donald Trump has departed the White House en route to Beijing, where he will meet with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.Trump spoke briefly with reporters on Tuesday as he boarded the Marine One helicopter. He was then set to arrive in China aboard Air Force One on Wednesday, ahead of the planned meetings on Thursday and Friday.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Trump to discuss Iran with Xi Jinping during China visit: Officialslist 2 of 3Former Qatar PM: Netanyahu using Iran-war" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="38748" data-entity-type="event">Iran war to reshape Middle Eastlist 3 of 3Iran war effect: Why is Modi asking Indians to avoid foreign trips, gold?end of listUnited States officials have taken pains in recent days to downplay how big a topic the US-Israel war on Iran will be during Trump’s visit.Beijing has made its opposition to the war clear, at times asserting behind-the-scenes pressure on its trading partner Iran. However, it has largely avoided being pulled into the fray.In recent days, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent have stepped up their calls for China to use its influence to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20 percent of the world’s oil supply flowed before the war began.But Trump again gave conflicting messages on Tuesday about how much the war would feature in his meetings in China.“We’re going to have a long talk about it. I think he’s been relatively good, to be honest with you,” Trump said of his plans to discuss the conflict – and how it has roiled global oil markets – with Xi.Minutes later, he added, “We have a lot of things to discuss. I wouldn’t say Iran is one of them, to be honest with you, because we have Iran very much under control.”“I don’t think we need ⁠any help with Iran. We’ll win it one way or the other, peacefully or otherwise,” he said.