As Trump Courts Xi, Pressure Mounts To Confront China Over Support For Iran

WASHINGTON -- US lawmakers and national-security experts are pressing President Donald Trump to take tougher action against Chinese entities accused of helping Iran with satellite intelligence, weapons components, and oil revenue.

The calls intensified as Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the White House on September 24 for a high-stakes meeting with Trump, followed by a lavish state dinner that underscored the delicate balancing act between the world's two largest economies.

Trump made no explicit mention of Iran during his public remarks with Xi, despite growing pressure from lawmakers who warned that Washington risks encouraging deeper cooperation between Beijing and Tehran if it fails to impose costs.

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“This summer, it was all over the press that China gave Iran satellite imagery intelligence, and that intelligence led to the death of American troops,” Roger Wicker of Mississippi, the Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said on the Senate floor the day Xi arrived.

“So, I would certainly suggest that the President try to get an answer to that.”

Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and 18 other Democratic senators accused Trump of failing to hold Xi accountable for Chinese companies' alleged support for Iran.

The White House has not publicly detailed whether Trump confronted Xi over the allegations in their private talks.

Trump said the two had a "great meeting" on September 24, adding that he and Xi “have made tremendous strides on the issues facing our two countries.”

He gave few details, however.

China's official Xinhua news agency said that during the meeting, Xi called on Iran and the United States to resolve their problems through dialogue as soon as possible.

The two leaders will meet again on September 25 before Xi heads back to China.

Shaheen had earlier called on Trump to crack down on three areas of alleged Chinese support: satellite imagery and targeting assistance, components for Iranian missiles and drones, and purchases of sanctioned Iranian oil.

Beijing is Tehran's most important oil customer and has significant economic leverage over Iran.

But Iran represents only a small fraction of China's overall trade, giving Beijing considerably more room to maneuver than Tehran.

For some US experts, however, the issue goes beyond China's relationship with Iran and raises broader questions about how Washington responds to Beijing when Chinese entities are accused of supporting countries hostile to the United States.

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Mary Kissel, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and CEO of The Kissel Group, said Washington should hold Chinese entities involved in supporting Iran accountable.

“One of the great mistakes of the past several decades was the willingness of US administrations -- of both parties -- to excuse China's malign activity across the economic, military and diplomatic spheres,” Kissel told RFE/RL.

“If we want China to curb its support for the Islamic Republic of Iran -- which is a worthy goal -- then we need to hold Chinese state-backed banks, companies and individuals accountable for their actions.”

Otherwise, she said, Washington would send a message that China “is allowed to play by a different set of rules,” with implications extending to Beijing's partners in Moscow, Tehran, and Pyongyang.

That concern is particularly acute over allegations that Chinese entities provided Iran with satellite imagery that could have been used in attacks on US forces.

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Christopher Walker, vice president at the Center for European Policy Analysis, said such reports should be viewed as part of a wider strategic challenge.

“Given that US intelligence have tied Chinese satellite imagery to attacks against American service members in the Middle East region, it’s crucial that the US takes tougher action against Beijing, which will seek every opportunity to exploit US vulnerabilities,” Walker told RFE/RL.

He described Chinese support for Iran as part of Beijing's broader effort to assist like-minded governments forming what he called a loose but dangerous “axis of autocracies.”

The satellite-imagery allegation, however, remains contested.

The Wall Street Journal, citing US officials, reported that Chinese entities provided Iran with high-resolution imagery of a US base in Jordan before an Iranian strike killed three US soldiers and wounded four others.

Beijing has denied providing Iran with military or intelligence support.

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Gawdat Bahgat, a professor of national security affairs at the National Defense University's Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies, urged caution about treating the allegations as established fact.

“Both China and Iran have not confirmed sharing satellite imagery [or] weapons components,” Bahgat told RFE/RL.

At the same time, Bahgat said, Beijing has a clear economic interest in maintaining its relationship with Tehran, particularly through the purchase of discounted Iranian oil.

“I doubt that China will stop buying Iranian oil,” he said.

Citing the US Treasury Department, Shaheen said 90 percent of Iran's oil exports go to China, generating billions of dollars for Tehran despite US sanctions. She said much of the trade moves through shadow fleets, front companies, and Chinese refineries.

In an interview with RFE/RL last week, Shaheen also said Iran was receiving targeting information from both China and Russia to help strike American assets.

Republican Senator John Kennedy made a similar argument on September 24, telling reporters that Xi could use Beijing's influence to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Xi “could open up that strait with a phone call,” Kennedy said, while accusing China of assisting Iran with military equipment and intelligence.

The pressure from lawmakers comes amid deep partisan divisions over the broader US war with Iran.

At the White House on September 24, the emphasis was on dialogue and strategic stability.

Xi said he and Trump held “sincere and in-depth exchanges” and reached a “common understanding on many issues,” but did not specify whether Iran was among them.

According to China's state-run Xinhua news agency, Xi told Trump that Beijing supported a return by Washington and Tehran to an earlier agreement aimed at ending the war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump, meanwhile, had already signaled reluctance to publicly confront Xi over allegations of Chinese intelligence support to Iran.