China and US in Communication on Trump Visit, Chinese Foreign Ministry Says

BEIJING, March 16 (Reuters) - China and the U.S. are in communication about President Donald Trump's visit to China, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Monday when asked about reports of Trump's threat to delay a planned summit with Chinese President Xi ​Jinping.

The U.S. president told the Financial Times that countries that benefit from shipping through the Strait of Hormuz should help ​secure it. "I think China should help too because China ‌gets 90% of its oil from the Straits," Trump told the newspaper, adding he would prefer to know Beijing's position before the planned visit. "We may delay," he said of the trip.

Head of state diplomacy plays an irreplaceable role in providing strategic guidance to China-U.S. relations, said Lin Jian, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, when asked about the report during a regular press conference.