US president also says he has ‘a lot of respect’ for Chinese leader Xi Jinping and believes feeling is mutual as planned summit in US nears
2-MIN READ2-MIN ListenNayan Sethin WashingtonPublished: 6:32am, 1 Sep 2026Updated: 6:35am, 1 Sep 2026US President Donald Trump praised China on Monday for remaining on the sidelines during the prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz, just weeks before Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to visit Washington.“Even with the Strait of Hormuz, he’s relatively inactive. He’s been relatively inactive by comparison to what he could have been,” Trump said while responding to a reporter’s question on Xi’s likely visit.“He’s coming in a couple of weeks. He looks forward to it. I look forward to having him. We have had a very good relationship.”
Trump added that he had “a lot of respect” for the Chinese leader and believed the feeling was mutual.
“I think he respects me, and I think he respects our country again. He didn’t respect our country two years ago. He laughed at our country.”
