China under pressure as Trump ties high-stakes summit to Strait of Hormuz crisis

Trump has reportedly threatened to postpone his Beijing summit unless China assists in breaking Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, linking the Middle East energy crisis to fragile US-China diplomatic progress. Beijing, as the world's largest buyer of Gulf oil, faces a dilemma between its economic interests in stable energy routes and its policy of non-interference. The situation is complicating China's strategic posture on multiple fronts simultaneously.