Xi Jinping Keeps Distance from Iran Ahead of Trump Meeting Later This Month
Geopolitics
Chinese President Xi Jinping has shown a more cautious stance toward Iran, meeting briefly with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and not prominently publicizing the meeting during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Kyrgyzstan, amid observations that Beijing is trying to maintain distance from Tehran ahead of Xi's scheduled trip to Washington to meet with President Donald Trump in late September 2026. Chinese state media, including People's Daily, did not mention the meeting with the Iranian president, while the Indian leader publicly released photos of his own meeting. Analysts believe that China wants to maintain strategic relations with Iran but does not want to signal that it is choosing to side with Iran, especially before the meeting between Xi and Trump. China is the largest buyer of sanctioned Iranian oil, but import volumes through the Strait of Hormuz have significantly decreased since the war began. Meanwhile, economic tensions between China and the U.S. continue, with China recording a record-high trade surplus of $1.2 trillion last year.
