US President Donald Trump is expected to discuss the Iran conflict with Chinese President Xi Jinping at a bilateral summit scheduled for May 14-15 in Beijing.
Trump has expressed his desire to reduce geopolitical tensions following the escalating Iran war, while insisting that relations with China remain stable and non-confrontational.
He also said that China respects Iran, but the United States will not be challenged either.
The statement came as the conflict began to affect the global energy supply chain.
The Iran war has disrupted the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route for world energy trade. This situation has put pressure on major importing countries such as China to ensure sufficient domestic supplies.
At the same time, the United States has increased pressure on Tehran by imposing sanctions on refineries in China that process Iranian oil. The move is seen as Washington's attempt to force Iran to reach a settlement to the conflict.
The summit also faced uncertainty when the previous Iran war caused a postponement of the original schedule, thus sparking concerns in global financial markets.
However, the White House confirmed that Trump's visit would go ahead as planned.
To date, China has yet to confirm an official date for the meeting, in line with Beijing's practice of keeping top leaders' schedules secret until the last minute.
In addition to the Iran issue, the meeting is expected to touch on existing tensions involving trade and Taiwan.
The Trump administration previously launched a new trade investigation as the basis for potential additional tariffs on Chinese goods, after a US Supreme Court decision overturned some of the previous levies.
In a related development, the US Trade Representative also began the second four-year review of tariffs under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which focuses on issues of technology transfer, intellectual property and innovation involving China since the initial investigation in 2017.
