Chinese Internet Mocks Trump's ‘Tollbooth' in Strait of Hormuz
The United States’ double blockade of Iran is trending on Chinese social media, where amused netizens are likening it to a “tollbooth.”
Since the U.S. and Israel launched their attacks on February 28, Iran has maintained leverage by choking off the Strait of Hormuz, through which flows one-fifth of the world’s seaborne oil exports during peacetime. As the resulting oil shock drove international pressure to reopen the route, Tehran in recent weeks introduced a system to escort approved ships through its waters, in what some have dubbed a “tollbooth.”
The U.S. imposed its own blockade Monday-on ships departing Iranian ports-after the weekend’s high-stakes negotiations with Iran failed to produce a lasting truce. Taking to Truth Social, President Donald Trump on pledged to refuse passage to ships found to have paid Iran what he called “an illegal toll.”
The White House directed Newsweek to Trump’s statement. Newsweek contacted the Pentagon by email for comment.
Since Trump’s announcement, Chinese netizens have weighed in on what they describe as a second “toll booth”-this time run by Washington. The U.S. military’s Central Command, which is charged with carrying out the operation, has not announced plans to collect transit fees.
“The Americans: Since you all have too much money and are willing to pay transit fees, then we don't mind you paying one more fee,” one wrote on the X-like social media platform Weibo.
“Wasn't what Somali pirates used to do basically the same kind of work?” quipped another.
Some speculated that the situation could escalate further, with Gulf countries imposing additional blockades. Others shared edited maps illustrating hypothetical layers of such blockades, in some cases stacked one after another to an absurd degree.
“It would be wonderful if Yemen built another toll booth,” one Weibo user said, imagining a similar setup in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to the south of that country..
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Vessel Traffic in the Strait of Hormuz
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Chinese social media is tightly monitored by censors, and political content does not spread widely without Beijing’s tacit approval.
China‘s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday called the U.S. escalation “dangerous and irresponsible.”
“The U.S. side has increased its military deployment and adopted targeted blockade actions, which will only intensify contradictions, exacerbate tensions, undermine the already fragile ceasefire situation, and further impact the safety of passage in the strait,” spokesperson Guo Jiakun told reporters.
China, a longtime political partner of Iran, has a particularly strong stake in seeing shipping resume, as the Middle Eastern nation provides some 40 percent of Chinese oil imports.
Chinese diplomats were reportedly involved behind the scenes in Pakistan’s offer to broker the negotiations over the weekend.
That initial round of direct talks failed to produce a lasting agreement, with the U.S. side saying Iran rejected key demands, including abandoning uranium enrichment over concerns it could develop a nuclear weapon. Tehran accused Washington of making maximalist demands and shifting its position.
Both sides said there had been some progress, however, and Islamabad has proposed a second round of talks as early as Thursday, Pakistani officials said.
Newsweek's reporters and editors used Martyn, our Al assistant, to help produce this story. Learn more about Martyn.
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This story was originally published April 14, 2026 at 12:35 PM.