Will China help Trump bring the Iran war to an end?

China is eager to “help” peace negotiations between Washington and Tehran, U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday, as he concluded a two-day presidential summit in Beijing.

In an interview with Fox News on Thursday, Trump said his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping had ruled out sending military assistance to U.S. forces in Iran, but that he had offered diplomatic help.

“He’d like to see Hormuz Strait opened,” Trump said, adding that Xi said China was ready to assist efforts to bring the war to an end.

“He said, ‘if I can be of any help at all, I would like to be of help’,” Trump said.

Speaking to reporters on board Air Force One on Friday, Trump said he and Xi “agree almost entirely” on the situation in Iran.

Asked if he believed China would put pressure on Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Trump said he was “not asking for any favors.”

“When you ask for favors, you have to do favors in return. We don’t need favors,” he said.

But he added: “I think he will,” in a reference to Xi.

“I think he’d like to see it opened up,” Trump said. “He gets about 40% of his energy or his oil [from] the Strait. We get none. We don’t need it.”

On Thursday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC that China will work behind the scenes to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

CNBC has reached out to the Chinese government for comment.

The Iran war, now well into its third month, has caused gas prices to spike in the U.S. and oil to soar globally as Iran continues to lock down the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping route for oil and other commodities.

Washington suspended attacks on Iran last month, but Trump has said the ceasefire is “on life support” as the two sides struggle to agree the terms of a peace deal.

Trump told Fox News on Thursday that China had agreed to purchase American oil, adding that Xi would like to see the Strait of Hormuz free of tolls.

China is Iran’s largest trading partner and the primary buyer of its oil, according to the U.S. government. Chinese purchases account for around 90% of Iranian oil exports and provide tens of billions of dollars in annual revenue to Tehran.

Beijing has largely stood on the sidelines of the U.S.-Iran war, but has criticized the conflict and called for it to come to an end.

A spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry reiterated that stance on Friday, saying that Beijing “believes that dialogue and negotiation is the right way forward, and the use of force is a dead end.”

“There is no point in continuing this conflict, which should not have happened in the first place,” they said. “To find an early way to resolve the situation is in the interest of not only the U.S. and Iran, but also regional countries and the rest of the world.”