The United States is counting on support from China to resolve the deadlock around the Strait of Hormuz, according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
"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," Rubio told Fox News aboard Air Force One on the way to China.
Rubio is accompanying US President Donald Trump, who has arrived in Beijing and is due to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday.
The secretary of state said China had several reasons to be interested in resolving the situation in the strait, which is currently largely impassable, noting that Chinese ships are also stuck in the Gulf.
He also pointed to China's export-oriented economy, saying it was suffering from the global economic strain caused by the crisis in the strait because other countries were consequently buying fewer Chinese products.
Rubio's comments contrasted with Trump's earlier remarks. Asked whether Xi could be helpful in the Iran war, the US president replied: "I don't think we need any help with Iran."
The stand-off in the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for global oil and gas markets, has been weighing on the world economy for some time.
Iran made the strait largely impassable through threats and attacks on tankers and cargo ships after the war began on February 28. The US responded with a blockade of ships entering or leaving Iranian ports.
China is one of Tehran's most important partners and has called since the start of the war for passage through the Strait of Hormuz to be guaranteed again.
