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THE widening war between the United States, Israel and Iran has cast a heavy shadow over President Donald Trump’s visit to China, with Washington increasingly seeking Beijing’s influence as the conflict reshapes alliances across the Middle East and rattles global energy markets.
Trump arrived in Beijing on Wednesday for high-stakes talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, amid growing signs that the war launched jointly by Washington and Israel in late February has become politically costly, diplomatically isolating and economically destabilising.
Analysts say Trump is expected to press China to play a more active role in restraining Tehran and securing stability in the Persian Gulf, though Beijing is unlikely to fully align itself with American objectives given its deep energy and strategic ties with Iran.
The diplomatic tensions come as fresh reports point to a rapid geopolitical realignment throughout the Gulf region.
Israel claimed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu secretly travelled to the United Arab Emirates in March for talks with President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, describing the meeting as a “historic breakthrough” in bilateral relations.
The UAE, however, swiftly denied the account.
“Any claims regarding unannounced visits or undisclosed arrangements are entirely unfounded unless officially announced by the relevant authorities in the UAE,” Reuters cited the Emirati foreign ministry saying in a statement.
Iran reacted furiously to reports of deepening Gulf-Israeli coordination following repeated Iranian strikes on Emirati territory since the outbreak of the war.
“Enmity with the Great People of Iran is a foolish gamble. Collusion with Israel in doing so: unforgivable. Those colluding with Israel to sow division will be held to account,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi wrote on X.
Regional tensions intensified further after reports that Saudi fighter jets had bombed Iran-backed militias in Iraq as Gulf states quietly expanded military operations linked to the conflict. Sources also said retaliatory strikes had been launched from Kuwait into Iraqi territory.
At the centre of the escalating crisis is the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly one-fifth of global oil supplies flowed before the war erupted. Tehran has tightened control over the strategic waterway while forging new energy arrangements with Iraq and Pakistan to transport oil and liquefied natural gas through the corridor.
Iranian officials have increasingly portrayed control of the strait as a long-term strategic objective aimed at strengthening Tehran’s economic and geopolitical leverage.
“After this war ends, there will be no place for retreat,” an Iranian army spokesperson said in comments carried by the ISNA news agency.
The remarks underscore the widening gap between Washington and Tehran despite more than a month of fragile ceasefire diplomacy.
The United States has demanded that Iran dismantle its nuclear programme and relinquish its control over the Strait of Hormuz, while Tehran has insisted on compensation for war damage, an end to the American blockade of Iranian ports and a cessation of hostilities across multiple fronts, including Lebanon, where Israeli forces continue battling the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement.
Trump dismissed Tehran’s demands as “garbage”.
Vice-President JD Vance nevertheless suggested negotiations were making progress.
“The fundamental question is, do we make enough progress that we satisfy the President’s red line?” Vance told reporters at the White House.
“And the red line is very simple. He needs to feel confident that we put a number of protections in place such that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon.”
Iran has consistently denied seeking nuclear weapons capability.
The war is also sending shockwaves through global energy markets. The International Energy Agency warned on Wednesday that worldwide oil supply could fall by nearly 3.9 million barrels per day in 2026 due to disruptions linked to the conflict, with more than one billion barrels of Middle Eastern supply already affected.
Washington has intensified efforts to persuade Beijing to pressure Tehran over maritime security in the Gulf.
The United States hopes to convince China “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,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said during an interview with Fox News.
The Trump administration has also sought to project unity with Beijing over freedom of navigation in the region, saying senior American and Chinese officials agreed last month that no country should be permitted to impose tolls on maritime traffic through the Gulf corridor.
China, one of Iran’s largest oil buyers, has not publicly challenged Washington’s account.
Meanwhile, shipping data showed a Chinese supertanker carrying two million barrels of Iraqi crude successfully passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, marking the third known transit by a Chinese oil tanker since US and Israeli strikes against Iran began on February 28.
Sources said several other countries are now exploring shipping arrangements similar to Tehran’s agreements with Iraq and Pakistan, raising concerns that Iran could further entrench its influence over one of the world’s most strategically vital trade routes. - May 14, 2026
