Bill O'Reilly called the Chinese government directly – and what they told him changes everything about this summit.
Now he has the inside scoop that Trump's team won't put on the record.
And O'Reilly just told Chris Cuomo what the real trade is – and it has nothing to do with soybeans.
O’Reilly Called Beijing Directly as Trump Xi Summit Opened
Bill O'Reilly went on NewsNation with information nobody else had.
He didn't get it from a briefing. He picked up the phone and called the Chinese himself – and they picked up.
"There will be discussions about China helping the United States with Iran, to tamp Iran down," O'Reilly told host Chris Cuomo. "But in return, the Chinese are going to want something – and it will center around Taiwan."
Not a handover. Not a military concession. Something more dangerous: the beginning of a conversation.
"The Chinese at this point are just trying to get into the room," O'Reilly said.
That is the tell. Getting into the room on Taiwan is the strategic goal Beijing has been playing for since 1949 – and the Iran war just handed them the leverage to demand it.
What China Wants From Trump While the Strait of Hormuz Stays Closed
Here is the arithmetic Xi Jinping is running right now.
About 20 percent of the world's oil supply moves through the Strait of Hormuz. China pulls roughly a third of its crude through that same chokepoint. Iran closing the strait hurt China too – but China built up strategic reserves of 360 million barrels heading into this conflict. They cushioned the blow. They were ready.
With gas prices spiking, the Iran ceasefire on "massive life support" as Trump himself called it, and the midterms closing in fast, Beijing understands exactly how badly Washington needs this summit to produce results.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent publicly called on China last week to intervene.
"The attacks from Iran have closed the strait. We are reopening it. I would urge the Chinese to join us in supporting this international operation," Bessent said.
China heard that and started pricing their help accordingly.
O'Reilly identified the offer Trump brought to offset the Taiwan ask: American energy. He told Cuomo that Trump is offering China an alternative oil supply – U.S. crude and LNG in place of Iranian crude – so Beijing can afford to pressure Tehran without wrecking its own economy.
Nearly 600,000 barrels of U.S. crude were already loading onto tankers bound for China in April, according to shipping data, a dramatic reversal from 2025 when Chinese imports of American crude dropped to essentially zero after the tariff war.
Why Trump Is Gambling Everything on the Beijing Summit
O'Reilly has been talking to Trump directly throughout this conflict – texts, phone calls, off-the-record conversations.
His read: Trump understands this is the biggest gamble of his presidency.
"What we're looking at here is another gamble by the biggest presidential gambler of all time, Donald Trump," O'Reilly told Cuomo. "If he wins and the Iranians do pull back and the economy does explode in a positive way, that's going to mean a lot in the midterms."
The timeline pressure is real. Trump originally planned this China summit for March – weeks after the U.S. and Israel struck Iran on February 28 in what his team predicted would be a four-to-six-week operation. More than two months later, the war is still grinding.
Every week the Strait stays closed, inflation climbs. Every week inflation climbs, Trump's poll numbers drop. Every week his poll numbers drop, Xi's leverage at the negotiating table gets stronger.
Trump knows it. Xi knows it. And O'Reilly knows it – which is why he picked up the phone and called Beijing himself.
The CEOs traveling with Trump – more than a dozen of them, including Tim Cook and Elon Musk – aren't there for photo opportunities. They're the down payment on the trade framework that makes the energy deal real and gives China economic reasons to push Tehran toward a peace agreement.
If it works, gas prices fall, inflation cools, and Trump walks into the midterms with a win that nobody thought possible two months ago.
If it doesn't, the ceasefire collapses, the strait stays shut, and Xi pockets whatever Taiwan concession Trump offered in exchange for nothing.
That's the gamble. And O'Reilly is the only one saying it out loud.
Sources:
- Ashleigh Fields, "O'Reilly: Trump is 'gambling' he can turn economy around," The Hill, May 12, 2026.
- "Trump-Xi Talks Set to Tackle Iran Oil Lifeline, Strait of Hormuz and U.S. Energy Deals," OilPrice.com, May 11, 2026.
- Guy Taylor, "Trump heads to China as Iran conflict set to reignite," Washington Times, May 12, 2026.
- "Trump-Xi summit to weigh US energy sales amid Hormuz crisis," Asia Times, May 13, 2026.