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China will work behind the scenes to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Bessent says

Cnbc · · 457 words · By Spencer Kimball
open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/14/china-xi-trump-iran-war-oil-strait-hormuz-bessen…

fact_checkFact-Check Results

15 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

check_circle Corroborated 6
schedule Pending 5
info Single Source 2
cancel Disputed 1
verified Verified By Reference 1
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“China will use its influence in Iran to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC in an interview on Thursday.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent news sources (CBS News, ZeroHedge) report that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC that China would use its influence to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Scott Kenneth Homer Bessent ( BESS-ənt; born August 21, 1962) is an American businessman, financial analyst, and government official serving since 2025 as the 79th United States secretary of the treas…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Bessent
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Ukraine–United States Mineral Resources Agreement is an agreement between the United States and Ukraine establishing terms for joint investment in Ukraine's natural resources, including critical r…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukraine–United_States_Mineral_…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretar…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Secretary_of_the…
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“China is the largest crude oil importer in the world.”
CORROBORATED
Three independent news sources (Flipboard, BBC News, CNBC) explicitly state that China is the world's largest importer of crude oil.
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cross reference SUPPORTS — China... is also the globe's biggest importer of [crude oil]
https://flipboard.com/topic/news/trump-thinks-he-s-flying-to…
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cross reference SUPPORTS — China, the biggest importer of crude oil in the world, has enough stockpiled to get it through the next few months.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cze0kz7gr84o?at_medium=RSS…
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cross reference SUPPORTS — China, the world's largest crude importer
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/11/china-cpi-ppi-inflation-ener…
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“About 10% of its imports came from Iran and more than half came from the the Middle East in 2024, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.”
DISPUTED
The claim states over half of imports came from the Middle East in 2024. However, a web search result citing 'Top 15 Crude Oil Suppliers to China 2024' states that over one-third (34.8%) originated from Middle Eastern nations, which contradicts the 'more than half' claim.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The United States government classification system is established under Executive Order 13526, the latest in a long series of executive orders on the topic of classified information beginning in 1951.…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classified_information_in_the_…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Iowa is one of the largest states by electric production and the largest one that does not produce petroleum. In 2021, Iowa had a total summer capacity of 21,771 MW through all of its power plants, an…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_in_Iowa
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of countries by oil extraction (i.e., crude oil and lease condensate production), based on data compiled from the U.S. Energy Information Administration database for November 2025. As t…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_oil_extra…
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
“Nearly all of Iran's crude oil exports go to China, the Treasury Secretary said.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
While search results confirm Scott Bessent's interview and discussions about Iran/China, none of the provided evidence snippets explicitly contain the quote or fact that 'nearly all of Iran's crude oil exports go to China'.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Scott Kenneth Homer Bessent ( BESS-ənt; born August 21, 1962) is an American businessman, financial analyst, and government official serving since 2025 as the 79th United States secretary of the treas…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Bessent
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Ukraine–United States Mineral Resources Agreement is an agreement between the United States and Ukraine establishing terms for joint investment in Ukraine's natural resources, including critical r…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukraine–United_States_Mineral_…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretar…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Secretary_of_the…
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“President Donald Trump held talks with President Xi Jinping during a two-day summit in Beijing on Thursday.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources (Al Jazeera, other web results) confirm that President Trump and President Xi held talks in Beijing on Thursday, including a state dinner on May 14, 2026.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Donald Trump was the 45th and is the 47th President of the United States. He was first elected president in 2016, then was later elected to a second nonconsecutive term in 2024. Trump has repeatedly r…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_third_term_propos…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of international presidential trips made by Donald Trump, the 45th and 47th president of the United States. Donald Trump made 19 international trips to 25 countries (in addition to visi…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_international_presiden…
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“A White House official said the leaders agreed Hormuz needs to reopen.”
CORROBORATED
ZeroHedge and other reports indicate that Trump and Xi agreed the Strait of Hormuz needs to reopen.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Donald Trump assumed office as the 47th president of the United States on January 20, 2025. The president has the legal authority to nominate members of his cabinet to the United States Senate for con…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_cabinet_of_Donald_Trump
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The White House State Ballroom is part of a planned new East Wing for the White House, the official residence of the president of the United States. The new East Wing will replace the original, which …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_House_State_Ballroom
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — On the evening of April 25, 2026, gunshots were fired near the main security screening area for the annual White House Correspondents' Dinner at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C. President Don…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_White_House_Correspondent…
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“President Xi also made clear China's opposition to the militarization of the Strait and any effort to charge a toll for its use.”
CORROBORATED
Both Al Jazeera and CBS News report that the White House stated President Xi expressed opposition to the militarization of the strait and the charging of a toll.
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web search NEUTRAL — The Strait of Hormuz is a major route for illicit trade between the Musandam Peninsula, an exclave of Oman, and the southern coast of Iran.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strait_of_Hormuz
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web search NEUTRAL — “President Xi also made clear China’s opposition to the militarisation of the strait and any effort to charge a toll for its use,” the White House said.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/5/14/trump-xi-discuss-st…
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web search NEUTRAL — President Xi also made clear China's opposition to the militarization of the Strait and any effort to charge a toll for its use, and he expressed interest in purchasing more American oil to reduce Chi…
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-xi-jinping-meeting-china-…
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“Iran has blockaded the strait since early March in response to U.S. and Israeli airstrikes that killed many of its leaders, including its head of state Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided evidence mentions a blockade and tensions, but there is no specific evidence in the provided text confirming that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in airstrikes.
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web search NEUTRAL — Iran, [c] officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, [d] also known as Persia, [e] is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian S…
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran
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web search NEUTRAL — 1 day ago · Iran's military says it's trained and ready for any new U.S. assault as President Trump predicted a "long talk" about the war with China's President Xi in Beijing.
https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/iran-war-us-trump-china…
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web search NEUTRAL — 7 hours ago · Iran live updates: US intel assess Iran retains significant missile capability The assessment is in line with testimony from the Defense Intelligence Agency.
https://abcnews.com/International/live-updates/iran-live-upd…
info
“Some 20% of the world's crude oil transited through the strait prior to the war.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The web search results for this claim only returned dictionary definitions of the word 'approximately' and provided no factual data regarding oil transit percentages.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — 2 days ago · The meaning of APPROXIMATELY is in an approximate manner —used to indicate that a stated number, amount, or value is an approximation. How to use approximately in a sentence.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/approximately
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Get a quick, free translation! APPROXIMATELY definition: 1. close to a particular number or time although not exactly that number or time: 2. close to a…. Learn more.
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/approxim…
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web search NEUTRAL — Approximately is close to a particular time, measurement, or number — but it's not exact. If you plan to meet a friend at approximately 2:00, it will be okay if you are a bit early or late.
https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/approximately
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“Tehran is now claiming control over the narrow sea lane”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent sources (CGTN, Al Jazeera, TASS) report that Iran is claiming control over the Strait of Hormuz.
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cross reference SUPPORTS — CNN, citing Iranian official messaging – particularly from the Supreme National Security Council – reported a maximalist version in which Iran claimed sweeping gains: control over the Strait of Hormuz…
https://news.cgtn.com/news/2026-04-08/Experts-on-US-Iran-cea…
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cross reference SUPPORTS — Araghchi argued that the Strait of Hormuz falls under the territorial control of Iran and Oman
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/4/1/war-on-iran-three-ke…
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cross reference SUPPORTS — Fars claimed that the document clarified Iran’s key red lines, which particularly concern control of the Strait of Hormuz and the country’s nuclear energy sector.
https://tass.com/world/2122709
+ 2 more evidence sources
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“It has reportedly sought to implement a toll system for ships to cross Hormuz.”
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“Chinese state media reports, however, did not specifically mention Hormuz as a topic of discussion between Trump and Xi.”
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“The leaders "exchanged views on major international and regional issues, such as the Middle East situation," according to state news agency Xinhua.”
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“Bessent told CNBC that China is interested in buying more U.S. energy in response to the supply disruption in the Middle East.”
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“The U.S. plans to ramp up oil and liquified natural gas exports from Alaska”
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info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.