Donald Trump planned to use a White House discussion to push Beijing for a total cessation of trade with Tehran. China has now told the US it will cancel the September 24 summit if Washington approves any new arms sales to Taiwan before the visit, per multiple sources familiar with bilateral ties who spoke to Kyodo. Beijing designated the status of Taiwan as a red line in relations between the two nations.

China is the primary economic partner for Iran and has repeatedly rejected US demands to reduce that trade. During a G20 meeting this month, China was the sole holdout on a statement regarding the Strait of Hormuz, citing concerns that the language used could later be applied to the Taiwan Strait.