President Donald Trump said he is “not going to be much more patient” with Iran as his talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping moved into a second day in Beijing, adding a sharper nuclear deadline to a summit already dominated by the Strait of Hormuz crisis.
The new angle is not simply that Iran came up in the Trump-Xi meeting. That was expected. The shift is that Washington is now publicly pairing Beijing’s need for an open Hormuz with Trump’s renewed threat to seize or strike Iran’s enriched uranium if diplomacy fails.
What changed overnight
The National reported that Trump and Xi began a second day of talks Friday at Zhongnanhai, with China’s Foreign Ministry saying the leaders had reached “a series of new consensuses” but offering no detail. The ministry said the two sides agreed to strengthen communication and coordination on international and regional issues.
Trump, speaking to Fox News after the first day of meetings, said Xi offered to help with Iran. China’s public readout did not confirm that claim, and that caveat matters. Beijing has been careful to avoid sounding like it is joining Washington’s pressure campaign, even as China has a direct economic interest in reopening the waterway.
According to The National, Trump said: “I am not going to be much more patient. They should make a deal.” He also floated a possible operation involving Iran’s enriched uranium, saying, “The other thing we could do is bomb it again. But I would feel better getting it, and we will get it.”
Hormuz is now central to the China channel
The White House said after the first day of talks that both leaders agreed the Strait of Hormuz must remain open for the free flow of energy. Al Jazeera reported that the White House also said Xi opposed the militarisation of the strait and any attempt to charge a toll for passage.
China’s official readout, however, made no mention of Iran or Hormuz, underscoring the gap between Washington’s public framing and Beijing’s more cautious line.
That gap is important because Iran has reportedly begun allowing some Chinese-linked vessels through the strait under special arrangements. Al Jazeera reported, citing shipping data seen by Reuters, that a Chinese tanker transited the strait Wednesday. It also cited Iranian state media saying roughly 30 vessels had passed since Wednesday evening, while Iran’s Fars News Agency reported an agreement to allow some Chinese ships through.
The military pressure is still rising
The diplomacy is unfolding while maritime pressure around the Gulf remains high. Al Jazeera reported that U.S. Central Command said American forces had redirected 70 commercial vessels and disabled four others to enforce Trump’s blockade on ships traveling to or from Iranian ports through Hormuz.
Separately, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said “unauthorised personnel” had taken over a vessel anchored off Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates and that the ship was heading toward Iran. An Indian-flagged wooden cargo vessel also sank in Omani waters after a suspected drone or missile strike, with all 14 crew rescued by Oman’s coast guard, according to the same report.
Why it matters
The Trump-Xi channel is becoming one of the main pressure points in the Iran crisis. China buys heavily from the region, has leverage with Tehran, and does not want a prolonged Hormuz shutdown. The United States wants Beijing to help keep energy routes open without giving Iran military or diplomatic cover.
But the second day of talks also shows how fragile that path is. Washington is describing China as aligned against Hormuz tolls and Iranian escalation. Beijing is staying deliberately vague. Iran is allowing limited passage while asserting new control mechanisms. And Trump is publicly warning that patience is running out.
That combination makes the Beijing talks more than a side meeting. They are now part of the crisis architecture around Hormuz, Iran’s uranium stockpile, and whether the war moves back toward diplomacy or into another round of strikes.
Sources: The National, Al Jazeera, Reuters reporting cited by Al Jazeera.