By David Lawder and Susan Heavey
WASHINGTON, May 4 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday urged China to intensify its diplomatic efforts to persuade Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz to international shipping, adding that President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will discuss the subject when they meet next week.
"China, let's see them step up with some diplomacy and get the Iranians to open the strait," Bessent said during a live interview on Fox News Channel's "America's Newsroom" program.
Bessent said that China was buying 90% of Iran's energy, "so they are funding the largest state sponsor of terrorism."
He urged China to "join us in this international operation" to open the strait but did not specify what action Beijing should take. He added that China and Russia should stop blocking initiatives at the United Nations, such as a resolution encouraging steps to protect commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
China over the weekend escalated opposition to U.S sanctions against Chinese oil refineries over purchases of Iranian crude.
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China's Ministry of Commerce ordered companies not to comply with U.S. sanctions against five independent refiners, including the recently designated Hengli Petrochemical, invoking for the first time a law that allows Beijing to retaliate against entities enforcing sanctions it deems unlawful.
Bessent said Trump and Xi have been discussing Iran and will exchange views in person during their May 14 to 15 summit in Beijing. But he emphasized the two will strive to maintain the steady U.S.-China relationship established with their trade truce in October.
"We've had great stability in the relationship, and again, that comes from the two leaders having great respect for each other," he said.
Bessent said the United States is fully in control of the Strait of Hormuz through its blockade of Iranian shipping and that the new U.S. Navy operation to guide shipping through the strategic waterway will bring oil prices down. He called high fuel prices a "temporary aberration" that will end in a matter of weeks or months.
"Again, we are cognizant that this short-term blip up in prices is affecting the American people, but I am also confident on the other side of this, prices are going to come down very quickly," Bessent said, adding that the oil market will be well-supplied.
(Reporting by David Lawder, and Susan Heavey; Writing by David Lawder and Daphne Psaledakis; Editing by Nick Zieminski, Hugh Lawson and Cynthia Osterman)