Chinese President Xi Jinping welcomed US President Donald Trump for talks on Thursday (14 May 2026) at the ‘Great Hall of the People’ in Beijing. He said that 2026 will be a historic and milestone year for China-US relations. According to the White House, during the meeting, Xi Jinping expressed interest in buying more oil from America to reduce China’s dependence on the Strait of Hormuz.

Oil trade situation between China and America

According to an Associated Press report, Beijing’s state media reported that there was no mention of buying oil from America in the meeting. Despite being the world’s largest oil importer, China buys very little quantity of crude oil from America. In the year 2020, China was buying maximum 3,95,000 barrels of oil per day from America, which was only 4 percent of its total imports. However, it declined with time. Before Trump came back to power in 2024, it had come down to 1,93,000 barrels per day, whose total value was about $6 billion.

Impact of US tariffs on oil trade

The impact of the trade war between America and China was most visible on the oil trade. China has completely stopped buying oil from America from May 2025. At present, tensions have increased in the relations between the two countries. However, Xi Jinping said that both the countries should become partners instead of rivals. He emphasized that the relations between the two countries are the most important bilateral relations in the world and it is necessary to move them forward on the right path.

During Trump’s three-day visit to China, Xi Jinping warned the US President that the two global powers could clash if the Taiwan issue is not resolved properly. China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning posted on X that Xi Jinping has described Taiwan as the most important and sensitive topic of China-US relations. Mao Ning said, ‘President Jinping believes that if this issue is resolved wisely, there will be stability between the two countries.’

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