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Secretary of State Marco Rubio revealed that U.S. officials will attempt to persuade China to take a more "active role" in resolving the conflict in Iran as President Donald Trump prepares to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Joining "Hannity" from aboard Air Force One while en route to China, Rubio explained that the U.S. has made its case to Beijing on why it should engage in efforts to settle simmering tensions with Iran.
"It’s in their interest to resolve this," Rubio said Wednesday. "We hope to convince them to play a more active role in getting Iran to walk away from what they're doing now and trying to do now in the Persian Gulf."
"We've made the argument to the Chinese, and I hope it's compelling, and they'll have a chance to do something about it at the United Nations later this week," he said.
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Rubio argued it is in Beijing’s best interest to assist the U.S. with Iran — despite its strategic ties to Iran — as Chinese ships remain stuck in the Strait of Hormuz and place increased strain on the nation’s economy. China has the opportunity to back condemnation of Iran's actions on Hormuz at the United Nations.
"China's economy is export-driven, meaning their economy is fueled not by what they consume domestically, but by what they make and sell to other countries," the Secretary of State said.
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"Economies are melting down because of this crisis in the Strait," he added. "They're going to be buying less Chinese product and the Chinese exports are going to drop precipitously."
Trump's meeting with Xi is the first by a U.S. president since his own visit to China nine years ago.
Rubio also explained how the U.S. must strike a balance in its foreign policy toward China, noting that while the U.S. tames China as a geopolitical rival, it must also maintain a healthy relationship to preserve world stability.
"[China] is both our top political challenge geopolitically, and it's also the most important relationship for us to manage," the secretary told host Sean Hannity.
"We're going to have interests of ours that are going to be in conflict with interests of theirs. And to avoid wars and maintain peace and stability in the world, we're gonna have to manage those," he added.
China sidestepped its own sanctions on Rubio by changing the spelling of his name, allowing him to enter the country for the high-stakes Trump-Xi meeting. He was barred from China in 2020 over his criticism of Beijing’s human rights record.
At the high-stakes two-day summit, Trump and Xi are expected to discuss artificial intelligence, Taiwan and trade as the U.S.-Iran conflict simmers.
Rubio said Trump will cooperate with Xi where possible, while remaining steadfast on America’s core demands, including a non-nuclear Iran.
"There are clearly areas where they're so important for the United States that we're going to have to raise those issues, and we'll continue to do so. The president's going to continue to do so," he told Fox News. "There might be some areas of cooperation, too. And we want to make sure we don’t walk away from those."
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