By EFE
The Secretary of State of the United States, Marco Rubiostated this Wednesday that Washington hopes to convince China to take a more active role in stopping Iran’s actions in the Persian Gulf, considering that the crisis directly threatens Asia’s commercial interests.
“It is in China’s interest to resolve this. We hope to convince them to play a more active role to get Iran to abandon what it is doing now and trying to do now in the Persian Gulf,” Rubio said in an interview with Fox News journalist Sean Hannity aboard AF1.
The head of American diplomacy assured that the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and the conflict have had repercussions in China, noting that “a Chinese cargo ship was hit over the weekend,” in reference to the exchange of attacks recorded last Friday between Iran and the United States.
“The Chinese ships are stuck there,” Rubio insisted on the possible effect that the Hormuz blockade has on Beijing’s energy interests.
During the same interview, published in full tonight, the secretary assured that China has a clear strategy on this conflict by stating that “He has a knowing and wants to execute it.”
Rubio added that he understands China’s position from “the perspective of a nation-state, but when that knowledge comes into play conflict with our national interestswe need to do what is right for America.”
Trump, who had visited China during his first presidential term in 2017, arrives for his second state visit to meet with his counterpart Xi Jinping in the midst of a weak ceasefire with Iran and uncertainty about the signing of a possible peace agreement.
In recent months, Washington has intensified pressure on Beijing to reduce its indirect support for Iran and to contribute to a de-escalation in Middle Eastwhere both countries maintain strategic interests.
The US president has on several occasions asked China, Iran’s largest trading partner, to convince Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for hydrocarbon transit through which around forty five percent of China’s oil and gas imports pass.
Keep reading:
- “We will win no matter what happens,” warns Donald Trump about war against Iran
- Iran threatens to respond if the US continues its naval blockade
- Trump asks Iran to release eight women before peace negotiations
