'I'm opening Strait of Hormuz for China', insists Trump as he says President Xi will 'give me a big, fat, hug'
The US President took to social media to announce he's "permanently opening” the trade route for China
China will be “very happy” the US is reopening the Strait of Hormuz for its vessels, Donald Trump has said - adding President Xi Jinping will give him a “big, fat, hug” for lifting the blockade.
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The US President took to social media to announce he's "permanently opening” the trade route just hours after the US military announced its blockade had been “fully implemented”.
He wrote: “China is very happy I am permanently opening the Strait of Hormuz.
"I am doing it for them, also - And the World. This situation will never happen again. They have agreed not to send weapons to Iran.
"President Xi will give me a big, fat, hug when I get there in a few weeks."
It comes ahead of Trump’s state visit to China next month.
Read more: China's President Xi warns world order is 'crumbling into disarray' amid chaos over Strait of Hormuz
Trump added that the two countries are now working together smartly, saying: “It's better than fighting.”
But he warned: "REMEMBER, we are very good at fighting, if we have to - far better than anyone else!!!"
It came just moments after President Xi said in “today's world, chaos abounds, and the international order is crumbling into disarray” during a meeting with Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in Beijing.
Trump ordered a blockade of Iran's ports in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday after the two sides failed to reach a deal over the weekend during talks in Pakistan, despite negotiations lasting over 21 hours.
The critical waterway, used to move one fifth of the world’s oil and gas supplies, has become a major flashpoint in the conflict, with its effective closure by Iran hiking the cost of fuel, food and other basic goods.
Taking the X on Tuesday, Admiral Brad Cooper, CENTCOM commander, announced: "A blockade of Iranian ports has been fully implemented as US forces maintain maritime superiority in the Middle East.”
He added: “'An estimated 90 percent of Iran's economy is fueled by international trade by sea.“In less than 36 hours since the blockade was implemented, US forces have completely halted economic trade going into and out of Iran by sea."
Trump warned that Iranian naval ships approaching the US blockade of the country’s ports will be “eliminated” using the same “quick and brutal” method to destroy drug dealers’ boats.
US Central Command, which directs military operations in the Middle East, said no vessels have so far run the blockade.
However, shipping data shows dozens of vessels appeared to continue to pass through the strait despite the blockade.
Among those ships being barred included Chinese tankers.
In response, the country’s president Xi Jinping said nations should “oppose the world’s retrogression to the law of the jungle”.