US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urged China to “get with the programme” over proposed sanctions on Iran, saying Beijing would benefit from the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and lower energy prices.

Asked in a CNBC interview whether Washington could target China for doing business with Iran, Bessent said such discussions were best held in private but that the United States was confident everyone wanted the strait reopened and energy prices to fall.

“The Chinese get 50 percent [of their] energy from inside the Gulf. So it would do them a big service to get with the programme,” he said.