Why Trump-Xi summit did not move the China needle away from Iran
Beijing's incentive to alienate Iran has shrunk as the war has dragged on.
The Trump-Xi summit on Sept. 24 offered little sign that China is ready to distance itself from Iran, despite US pressure to do so. The war, now in its seventh month, has instead reinforced Beijing’s calculation that Tehran remains a strategic partner for China.
Before the summit, the Trump administration had been pushing China to meet a number of demands to scale down its ties with Iran. The first issue was Chinese imports of Iranian crude oil and revenue creation for Iran. Despite the war and restrictions imposed on the Strait of Hormuz, China continues in 2026 to purchase the vast majority — roughly 80% to 90% — of Iran's seaborne oil exports.
The scale of the trade has changed significantly since the war began, but Chinese buyers have continued to take in Iranian crude. Imports averaged 534,000 barrels per day in August, down from roughly 1.4 million bpd in 2025, according to Kpler data.
Sanctions
