BEIJING \u2014 President Donald Trump<\/a>\u2019s looming meeting with China\u2019s Xi Jinping<\/a> will face new tensions after U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran<\/a> that killed its China-friendly supreme leader<\/a>.<\/p>\n It\u2019s the second time in two months that the United States has taken military action against one of China<\/a>\u2019s key economic partners, after its surprise capture in January<\/a> of Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro. <\/p>\n But China has largely limited its response to stern statements, much as it did after the raid in Caracas despite warm relations with Venezuela.<\/p>\n China is \u201cproving to be a feckless friend for its authoritarian allies,\u201d Nicholas Burns, the U.S. ambassador to China under President Joe Biden, said on X<\/a>.<\/p>\n Experts say that while China is concerned about the Iran conflict, it may not see it as worth jeopardizing Trump\u2019s upcoming visit, which the White House says is scheduled to begin March 31. Both Trump and Xi are seeking to extend a fragile trade truce<\/a> between the world\u2019s two biggest economies.<\/p>\n Beijing has not yet confirmed the dates of the trip, which could come as the U.S. is still enmeshed in an Iran operation that Trump has said may last \u201cfour to five weeks\u201d or longer<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI haven\u2019t heard any plan to delay or derail that visit,\u201d Wang Huiyao, founder and president of the Center for China and Globalization, a nongovernmental think tank in Beijing, told NBC News in an interview Wednesday.<\/p>\n If anything, he said, the Iran conflict gives even greater urgency to a meeting between China, the Middle East\u2019s largest trading partner, and the U.S., the region\u2019s largest security partner. <\/p>\n Though China has long opposed Tehran\u2019s pursuit of nuclear weapons, it has served as a lifeline for heavily sanctioned Iran, a \u201ccomprehensive strategic partner\u201d with which it signed a 25-year cooperation agreement in 2021. China has since brokered a deal restoring diplomatic relations<\/a> between Iran and Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n About 80% of Iran\u2019s crude oil exports go to China, the world\u2019s largest energy importer, helping to keep Tehran\u2019s economy afloat. But China is far from dependent on Tehran, with Iranian oil accounting for only about 13% of China\u2019s total oil imports.<\/p>\n The China-Iran relationship is mainly \u201cpractical\u201d in nature, said Peiyu Yang, an assistant professor of Arabic studies at George Mason University in Virginia who studies China\u2019s historical and cultural connections with the Middle East.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not based on ideological standard or viewpoint,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s more based on economic interest.\u201d<\/p>\n China \u2014 which confirmed the death of one of its citizens in Tehran and has evacuated 3,000 others from Iran \u2014 has criticized the U.S.-Israeli strikes as a violation of Iran\u2019s sovereignty and international law. Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the killing of Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei<\/a> and the \u201cincitement of regime change\u201d were \u201cunacceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n But so far, China hasn\u2019t offered Iran much beyond rhetoric, underscoring its lack of readiness to challenge U.S. military action around the world. <\/p>\n \u201cThese countries are not delusional. They know that China cannot be relied on as a security partner,\u201d said Ahmed Aboudouh, an associate fellow in the Middle East and North Africa program at the Chatham House research institute in London. \u201cThey see it as a development partner, economic partner, trade, a technological partner, but not military.\u201d<\/p>\n Beijing has also been critical of Iran\u2019s response to the strikes, which has \u201cdirect implications for China\u2019s strategic interests,\u201d Aboudouh said.<\/p>\n In a call Monday with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Wang urged Iran to \u201ctake into account the legitimate concerns of neighboring countries.\u201d<\/p>\n China has major investments in energy-rich Gulf nations such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, where Iran\u2019s retaliatory strikes<\/a> have hit civilian targets. <\/p>\n While its Iranian oil imports are easily replaced, China gets about half of its oil from the Middle East as a whole. Iran\u2019s shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz<\/a>, a narrow shipping route that carries about one-fifth of the world\u2019s oil output, \u201ccould be a major shock to China\u2019s oil supply,\u201d Yang said.<\/p>\n China could stand to gain, however, if the U.S. gets bogged down in a prolonged conflict in the Middle East. That could \u201crelieve some of the strategic pressure\u201d from Washington over China’s military build-up in the Asia-Pacific, said William Yang, the International Crisis Group\u2019s senior analyst for Northeast Asia.<\/p>\n![\"Pro-Maduro](\"https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_fit-760w,f_auto,q_auto:best\/rockcms\/2026-01\/260105-caracas-3-rs-ae6bcb.jpg\")
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