Trump says Xi agrees Iran must open strait, but no sign China will weigh in

US President Donald Trump said Chinese President Xi Jinping had agreed Tehran must reopen the Strait of Hormuz, though China gave no indication it would weigh in.



Flying back from Beijing after two days of talks with Xi, Trump said he was considering whether to lift US sanctions on Chinese oil companies buying Iranian oil. China is the biggest buyer of Iranian oil.



"I'm not asking for any favours because when you ask for favours, you have to do favours in return," Trump said when asked by a reporter on Air Force One whether Xi had made a firm commitment to put pressure on the Iranians to reopen the vital strait.



Xi did not comment on his discussions with Trump about Iran, although China's foreign ministry criticised the Iran war, calling it a conflict "which should never have happened, has no reason to continue".



Iran effectively shut the strait, which carried one-fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas supply before the US and Israel launched attacks on Feb 28.



The disruption to shipping has caused the biggest oil supply crisis in history, pushing up oil prices.