Washington/Beijing, May 12 -- US President Donald Trump is headed to Beijing this week for holding a high-stakes summit with his Chinese counterpart President Xi Jinping after weeks of trying, and failing, to convince China to pressure Iran into ending the war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
For months, the White House has been trying to persuade Beijing to use its considerable economic influence over Tehran to help break the deadlock, that has obstructed all maritime trade along the vital energy corridor.
China remains the world's largest buyer of Iranian crude and one of Iran's few major economic lifelines amid massive sanctions and the ongoing war, thus exercising significant economic power over Tehran, and potentially has the abil...