President Donald Trump delivers remarks in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 8, 2026. REUTERS President Donald Trump heads to China this Thursday in an extremely strong position, but Xi Jinping will try to bluff him into some concessions. One such gambit came late last week, as Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi scurried off to Beijing , looking for support against Washington, only for Xi to publicly call on Tehran to end its Strait of Hormuz blockade and come to terms with the Americans. That’s supposed to make Trump feel grateful — as if an end to hostilities weren’t entirely in China’s interests, since 40% of its oil comes through the Strait. Equally laughable is the idea that the president should bribe Xi to release oil from China’s strategic reserve to help keep global prices down: Beijing would be the main beneficiary of any release; this is just a bid to be paid extra to do what you would anyway.…