President Donald Trump revealed Friday that he explored the possibility of removing sanctions on Chinese firms that purchase Iranian oil during his recent diplomatic visit to Beijing, with a decision expected in the coming days.
Washington recently placed sanctions on multiple Chinese oil refining companies for their Iranian oil purchases, including Hengli Petrochemical, which ranks among China’s biggest private refiners and represents Beijing’s efforts to advance and modernize its energy sector.
“We talked about that and I’m going to make a decision over the next few days,” Trump informed reporters while traveling on Air Force One after completing his two-day summit with President Xi Jinping in Beijing.
American officials, including Trump, brought up the prospect of China increasing purchases of U.S. energy during the summit discussions, though Chinese accounts of the meetings did not reference any agreements.
Trump expressed growing impatience with Iran and stated that he and Xi reached consensus that Tehran must be prevented from obtaining nuclear weapons and must reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
The president also indicated his willingness to accept Iran halting its nuclear activities for two decades, provided Tehran makes a genuine commitment.
“Twenty years is enough, but the level of guarantee from them, it’s got to be a real 20 years,” Trump stated.
