Rubio Says Trump Will Push Xi Jinping To Take ‘Active Role’ In Ending Iran War, Reopening Strait Of Hormuz

The Trump Administration is turning up the pressure on China — arguing Beijing now has as much to lose from the Iran crisis as anyone.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday that President Donald Trump and top administration officials will urge Chinese President Xi Jinping to take a more direct role in ending the war with Iran and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical shipping lanes.

Speaking with Fox News host Sean Hannity from Beijing, Rubio warned that the economic fallout from instability in the Persian Gulf is increasingly hitting China itself.

“The Chinese have ships stuck in the Persian Gulf, because setting up a system that says, ‘We’re going to let certain ships through but others not, it’s easier said than done,’” the secretary of state said.

The comments come as the Trump Administration intensifies efforts to economically isolate Tehran while pushing allies and rivals alike to help force a diplomatic resolution.

China has a massive financial stake in the outcome.

According to a March report from the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, Chinese purchases account for roughly 90 percent of Iran’s exported oil.

At the same time, the Strait of Hormuz remains one of the most vital energy chokepoints on the planet.

Based on first-quarter 2025 data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, China received more than 37 percent of the oil moving through the strait — more than any other nation.

India accounted for more than 14 percent of the oil exported through the corridor, while South Korea took roughly 12 percent and Japan nearly 11 percent. Other Asian nations collectively accounted for almost 14 percent.

The United States, by comparison, received just 2.5 percent.

That imbalance, Rubio suggested, gives Beijing every incentive to step in before the crisis spirals further.

“It’s a huge source of instability,” Rubio said of the closure. “It threatens to destabilize Asia more than any other part of the world, because it’s heavily reliant on the straits for energy.”

The Secretary of State also argued that China’s export-heavy economy could suffer severely if the broader global economy weakens amid sustained energy disruptions and shipping instability.

He also noted that since China’s economy is “export-driven,” a global economic downturn means that countries around the world “are going to be buying less Chinese products.”

“So it’s in their interest to resolve this,” the Secretary of State said. “We hope to convince them to play a more active role in getting Iran to walk away from what they’re doing now and trying to do now in the Persian Gulf.”

Watch the clip above.