President Donald Trump suggested on Sunday that he might delay his planned trip to China due to the Iran war, especially if China refuses to help secure the Strait of Hormuz against Iranian terror attacks on civilian tankers and cargo ships.
President Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday that he is “demanding” that countries with a stake in the free flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz “come in and protect their own territory, because it is their own territory.”
Trump pointed out that America gets very little of its oil through the Strait of Hormuz, but countries like China are heavily dependent upon it. He did not name any of the countries he was directly asking to help secure the strait.
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Later on Sunday, Trump told the Financial Times (FT) that he might delay his trip to China if Beijing does not step up to help protect the Strait of Hormuz for all international shipping.
“It’s only appropriate that people who are the beneficiaries of the strait will help to make sure that nothing bad happens there,” he argued.
Trump reiterated his point that China “gets 90 percent of its oil from the strait,” so “China should help too.” He said waiting until after his summit in Beijing would be too late.
This image released by the Royal Thai Navy shows Thai cargo ship, Mayuree Naree, that was struck and set ablaze in the Strait of Hormuz Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (Royal Thai Navy via AP)
Trump also mused that “if there’s no response or if it’s a negative response I think it will be very bad for the future of NATO.”
“We have a thing called NATO,” he said. “We’ve been very sweet. We didn’t have to help them with Ukraine. Ukraine is thousands of miles away from us.”
“But we helped them,” he continued. “Now we’ll see if they help us. Because I’ve long said that we’ll be there for them but they won’t be there for us. And I’m not sure that they’d be there.”
The FT interpreted some of Trump’s remarks to mean that he wants NATO assistance with securing the Iranian shore along the Strait of Hormuz, from which the broken Iranian military can use air and sea drones, missiles, and even artillery to harass civilian vessels.
“We’re hitting them very hard. They’ve got nothing left but to make a little trouble in the Strait but these people are beneficiaries and they ought to help us police it. We’ll help them. But they should also be there. You sort of need a lot of people to watch over a few,” he said.
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Trump was particularly frustrated with the reluctance of the United Kingdom to help.
“As soon as we basically wiped out the danger capacity from Iran, they said, ‘oh well we’ll send two ships’, and I said, ‘we need these ships before we win, not after we win,’” he said.
“I’ve long said that NATO is a one-way street,” he mused.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed on Monday that Trump could postpone his trip to China.
“At this point, the president looks forward to visiting China. The dates may be moved,” she said. “As commander in chief, it’s his number one priority right now to ensure the continued success of this Operation Epic Fury.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also said Trump’s trip could be delayed, but he said it would be due to “logistics,” not an effort to pressure China into helping with the Strait of Hormuz.
“The president wants to remain in D.C. to coordinate the war, and traveling abroad at a time like this may not be optimal,” Bessent said.
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Bessent met with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in Paris on Sunday and Monday, a summit he described as “a very good two days.” He said there was no reason for investors to panic if Trump delayed his trip to Beijing, because trade talks would continue.
China has offered no official response to Trump’s request for security in the Strait of Hormuz, although Chinese state media on Sunday jeered at Trump for attempting to spread the burden of “a war that Washington started and can’t finish.”
“Crowding a volatile waterway with warships from multiple nations doesn’t create security. It creates flashpoints. If any single vessel were struck, the consequences could rapidly spiral beyond anyone’s control,” China’s state-run Global Times hissed, ignoring the obvious possibility that Iran might grow reluctant to wantonly attack ships in the Strait of Hormuz if Chinese military vessels were mixed into the traffic.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi claimed on Sunday that Iran has been “approached by a number of countries who want to have safe passage for their vessels,” and that ships from “different countries” have already been allowed to “pass in a safe and secure” manner.
CBS News host Margaret Brennan asked Araghchi about rumors that “diplomats from France and Italy are talking to your government about trying to get safe passage for their ships.”
“We are open to countries who want to talk to us about the safe passage of their vessels,” Araghchi replied.
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