President Xi Jinping told President Donald Trump that China is interested in purchasing more U.S. oil to reduce its reliance on the Strait of Hormuz, according to a White House readout of their leadership summit published Thursday.

Chinese state media summaries of the meeting made no reference to oil purchases, and China’s foreign ministry has not yet commented on the matter.

China is the world’s largest oil importer, though the U.S. has historically supplied only a small fraction of its crude. U.S. oil imports to China reached their highest level of approximately 395,000 barrels per day in 2020, representing just under 4% of China’s total crude imports.

By 2024, before Trump’s return to office, those imports had declined to 193,000 barrels per day, valued at $6 billion.

China has not imported any U.S. oil since May 2025, when a 20% import tariff was imposed during the ongoing trade war between the two countries.
Source: Investing.com