Iran war overshadows Trump's China visit as peace talks stall

U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to ask China to help end the costly and unpopular Iran war in discussions with President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Thursday, with peace talks stalled and the global economic cost of the conflict increasing.



The U.S.-Israeli war with Iran looms large over Trump's visit to China, the first by a U.S. president since his last trip there in 2017, although analysts say he is unlikely to get the support he wants.



More than one month after a tenuous ceasefire took effect, diplomatic efforts have failed to make progress towards resolving a war that has cost thousands of lives, reshaped alliances in the Middle East and driven up prices of oil and other key commodities around the world.



Washington has called for Tehran to scrap its nuclear programme and lift the chokehold it has placed on the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping lane through which about 20% of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas travelled before the war began on February 28.



Iran has demanded compensation for war damage, an end to the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports and a halt to fighting on all fronts, including in Lebanon, where Israel is battling Iran-backed Hezbollah. Trump has dismissed Tehran's positions as "garbage."