White House: China wants to buy more US oil

According to the White House’s summary of the talks in Beijing on May 14, President Xi Jinping expressed interest in buying more US oil with President Donald Trump, to reduce dependence on supply through the Strait of Hormuz.

However, China’s official announcement about the meeting did not mention this content in the topics discussed by the two leaders, although it did mention the Middle East situation. China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not commented.

China imports the most oil in the world, but the US has never been a major supplier to the country. Oil flows from the US peaked at about 395,000 barrels per day in 2020, less than 4% of China’s total crude imports.

By 2024, before Mr. Trump returns to the White House, imports have dropped to about 193,000 barrels per day, worth about $6 billion. And since May 2025, Chinese traders stopped buying US oil, after Beijing imposed a 20% import tax in response to Mr. Trump’s tariff attacks.

Since the Middle East conflict broke out in late February, global oil and gas supply has been tense, due to the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, disrupting about 20% of output, pushing prices up. According to a US official, both Mr. Xi Jinping and Mr. Trump agreed that this strait needs to be opened to allow the free flow of energy.

After the talks, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said the US and China agreed to establish a “constructive strategic stable relationship”. Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokesman He Yongqian said the country is ready to expand bilateral cooperation and said the two sides will work together to shorten the “list of outstanding issues” and promote healthy development of economic and trade relations.

The White House commented that President Donald Trump had a “good meeting” with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The two sides discussed measures to enhance economic cooperation, such as expanding access to the Chinese market for US businesses and increasing Chinese investment in US industries.