Can Donald Trump end his war on Iran in time for rescheduled China trip?

Iran has so far rejected US peace proposals.

Photo: AFP Donald Trump’s planned visit to China in May may offer some clues about the preferred US road map for ending the war with Iran, according to Chinese analysts, who said that if the conflict dragged on, it could play into Beijing’s hands.

The US president delayed the visit, initially scheduled to start at the end of this month, to focus on the conflict, but said on Wednesday that he would visit Beijing on May 14 and 15.

China has yet to confirm the dates and on Thursday foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said only that the two sides were “in communication” about the visit.

Ma Xiaolin, an international relations specialist at Zhejiang International Studies University, said Trump may see the new dates as a chance to seek a resolution. “Even if the US can’t reach a peace agreement with Iran, at least Trump may seek to push to de-escalate the conflict to keep it in a relatively stable state,” Ma said.

Diao Daming, a professor at Renmin University’s school of international studies, said the new dates might reflect Washington’s thinking about how the war was likely to unfold. “The US previously announced a schedule change because of the situation in the Middle East … the rescheduled timing is very likely when the Trump administration believes the visit would be less affected by the evolving situation.” Trump’s eagerness to announce the dates might also reflect his “strong motivation and positive expectations” for the trip, Diao added.

The planned visit comes at a time when US-China relations are under increasing strain from disputes over issues such as trade, Taiwan and security.

However, the two sides have signalled their willingness to maintain communication between their leaders, with Lin saying on Thursday this played an “irreplaceable role”.

There has also been hope that Trump’s visit to China – the first by a US leader since his 2017 visit – could help improve outside international confidence about the relationship between the two countries.

Meanwhile, Trump has indicated his willingness to end the war, urging Iran to “get serious soon, before it is too late”.

Tehran has publicly rejected a US peace plan passed on via Pakistan but has indicated it would be willing to stop fighting if its own conditions were met.

However, analysts warned that the two sides would need to overcome their deep-seated mistrust if any peace deal were to be agreed.

Tehran was worried it might be attacked again if i

原文链接: 南华早报