US President Donald Trump and Chinese Xi Jinping agreed during talks in Beijing that Iran must not obtain a nuclear weapon, according to the White House.

In a statement released after the leaders’ meeting, the White House said both sides agreed that “Iran can never have a nuclear weapon.”

The discussions also focused on tensions surrounding the Strait of Hormuz, a key global shipping route heavily affected by the ongoing Iran conflict.

According to the White House, Xi stressed “China’s opposition to the militarisation of the strait and any effort to charge a toll for its use”.

The comments came during a high-profile summit between Trump and Xi aimed at improving relations between Washington and Beijing while addressing global security concerns.

However, China’s state news agency Xinhua did not mention Xi’s reported remarks about the Strait of Hormuz in its official summary of the meeting.

The summit marks the first face-to-face meeting between the two leaders since last year and comes amid growing international concern over the Iran conflict, disruptions to global oil supplies and rising tensions across the Middle East.