Rubio Says US Will Urge China to Take Active Role on Iran Conflict Before Trump-Xi Meeting

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said US officials will try to convince China to take a more active role in resolving the conflict with Iran as President Donald Trump prepares to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Rubio spoke Wednesday from Air Force One en route to China during an appearance on Hannity. He said the US has presented its case to Beijing on why it should help settle the simmering tensions with Iran.

"It’s in their interest to resolve this," Rubio 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."

"We've made the argument to the Chinese, and I hope it's compelling, and they'll have a chance to do something about it at the United Nations later this week," he said.

Rubio said it is in Beijing's interest to assist the US despite its strategic ties to Iran. Chinese ships remain stuck in the Strait of Hormuz, straining the nation's economy. China can back condemnation of Iran's actions there at the United Nations.

"China's economy is export-driven, meaning their economy is fueled not by what they consume domestically, but by what they make and sell to other countries," Rubio said.

"Economies are melting down because of this crisis in the Strait," he added. "They're going to be buying less Chinese product and the Chinese exports are going to drop precipitously."

Trump's meeting with Xi marks the first by a US president since his own visit to China nine years ago.

Rubio said the US must balance its foreign policy toward China. It must treat China as a geopolitical rival while maintaining a healthy relationship to preserve world stability.

"[China] is both our top political challenge geopolitically, and it's also the most important relationship for us to manage," Rubio told host Sean Hannity.

"We're going to have interests of ours that are going to be in conflict with interests of theirs. And to avoid wars and maintain peace and stability in the world, we're gonna have to manage those," he added.

China sidestepped its own sanctions on Rubio by changing the spelling of his name. That allowed him to enter the country for the Trump-Xi meeting. He had been barred from China in 2020 over his criticism of Beijing's human rights record.

At the two-day summit, Trump and Xi are expected to discuss artificial intelligence, Taiwan and trade as the US-Iran conflict continues.

Rubio said Trump will cooperate with Xi where possible but remain firm on America's core demands, including a non-nuclear Iran.