China's dominance of Iranian oil trade complicates Trump-Xi summit diplomacy

As Xi Jinping and Donald Trump prepare to meet, a largely unspoken commodity sits at the center of their geopolitical calculus: Iranian crude oil. China has quietly absorbed roughly eighty percent of Iran's petroleum exports, transforming Beijing from a trading partner into a structural variable inside American foreign policy. The question before both leaders is not merely about oil or sanctions, but about who holds the authority to write the rules of global commerce in an era of competing powers.