In an interview with the Financial Times, just a day after he urged five countries including China, France, Japan, South Korea and the U.K., which are "affected" by the closure of the strategically important waterway, a critical chokepoint for roughly one-fifth of the world's oil supply, to send warships.
"I think China should help too because China gets 90% of its oil from the Straits," he was quoted as saying.
Saying "waiting until the summit would be too late," he pressed Beijing, adding, "We'd like to know before that. It's [two weeks is] a long time." He also said, "We may delay."
Trump is scheduled to visit China from March 31 to April 2 for a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Trump also warned that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) would face a "very bad" future if U.S. allies fail to assist in reopening the strait.
"It's only appropriate that people who are the beneficiaries of the strait will help to make sure that nothing bad happens there," he said.
Meanwhile, in an op-ed published the previous day, China's state-run Global Times questioned, "Is this really about 'sharing responsibility' - or is it about sharing the risk of a war that Washington started and can't finish?"
It argued, "The cause of the tension in the Strait of Hormuz is not a shortage of naval vessels, but rather an ongoing war," asking "Who ignited the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz in the first place? Who is still bombing Iran?"
It also quoted China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi as saying, "This is a war that should not have happened - it is a war that does no one any good." He pointed out, "The U.S. and Israel attacked Iran during the ongoing U.S.-Iran negotiations, which clearly violates international law. In other words, someone set the fire. Now they're asking the world to help put it out - and split the bill."
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.