Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported Thursday that Tehran has begun allowing Chinese vessels through the Strait of Hormuz “in line with the two countries’ strategic partnership,” following requests from China’s foreign minister and ambassador. The IRGC characterized the transits as occurring under Iran’s “management protocols”—Tehran’s permission, within its claimed regulatory framework over the waterway. Shipping data showed the passage of several China-linked vessels including the Yuan Hua Hu crude carrier on Wednesday.
This context is important when reading the White House readout of the Trump-Xi summit, which described Xi as opposing “the militarization of the Strait and any effort to charge a toll for its use” and reported his interest in purchasing more American oil to reduce Chinese dependence on Hormuz. Read alongside the Fars report, Xi’s “opposition to tolls” looks less like a rebuke of Iran’s strait-control strategy and more like a description of the bilateral arrangement Beijing already has: privileged transit, no tolls, on the basis of strategic partnership. By its actions, China is not refusing Iran’s authority over Hormuz: it’s simply not paying for it.
The Chinese MFA’s own readout makes no mention of Hormuz, tolls, oil purchases, or any joint position on Iran’s nuclear program.