PRESIDENT Donald J. Trump said he would be “disappointed” in China if they provided weapons to Iran, repeating assurances he said Xi Jinping had made to him that Beijing would not sell arms to Tehran.
Mr. Trump was asked on Wednesday about a report from Reuters that Iran is expected to receive a shipment of up to 400 Chinese-made shoulder-fired missiles within weeks.
“That was surprising. I mean, things like that happen, but that would be surprising,” Mr. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
“He told me very strongly he wouldn’t partake, but he knows I’d be quite disappointed. He’s coming here, I think, on Sept. 24th,” he added, referring to Mr. Xi’s plans to visit the US for a summit later this year.
Mr. Trump has previously expressed concern about potential Chinese weapons sales to Iran during the war. In April, he said Mr. Xi had told him in a letter that Beijing was not providing arms to Iran. China does not directly ship arms to Iran but does provide it with dual-use technology.
According to Reuters, deliveries of the portable air defense systems would transit through Pakistan to Iran, though the report did not clarify if they would transit by air or land. China’s foreign ministry previously denied the Reuters report as “groundless.”
Mr. Trump had threatened a 50% tariff on goods from countries that arm Tehran, a move that could upend the US-China economic relationship if he followed through.
More broadly, the Iran war has been a strain on relations between the world’s two largest economies, with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz disrupting energy flows to China, which is a major customer for Iranian oil. — Bloomberg News