China and Iran: Oil trade draws fresh criticism in US Congress

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

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

Trump did not explicitly mention 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 on those involved.

“This summer, press reports were everywhere that China provided Iran with satellite imagery intelligence, and that intelligence led to the deaths of American soldiers,” Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi, the Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said on the Senate floor on the day Xi arrived.

“So I certainly suggest that the president try to get an answer on that,” he added.

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

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

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

He provided few details, however.

China’s official Xinhua news agency said Xi called during the meeting for Iran and the United States to resolve their differences through dialogue as soon as possible.

The two leaders are scheduled to meet again on September 25 before Xi returns to China.

Shaheen had earlier called on Trump to take tougher action over 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 the most important buyer of Iranian oil and holds significant economic leverage over Tehran.

Iran, however, accounts for only a small share of China’s overall trade, giving Beijing far greater room to maneuver than Tehran.

Concerns extend beyond Beijing-Tehran ties

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

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

“One of the biggest mistakes of the past several decades has been the willingness of US administrations, from both parties, to overlook China’s malign activities in the economic, military and diplomatic spheres,” Kissel told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL).

“If we want China to reduce 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,” she added.

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.

Those concerns have taken on particular significance because of allegations that Chinese entities provided Iran with satellite imagery that could have been used to carry out attacks on US forces.

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

“Given that US intelligence has linked Chinese satellite imagery to attacks on US military personnel in the Middle East, it is critical that the United States take stronger action against Beijing, which will seek to exploit every opportunity to take advantage of American vulnerabilities,” Walker told RFE/RL.

Walker described Chinese support for Iran as part of a broader effort by Beijing to assist like-minded governments that form what he called a “loose but dangerous axis of authoritarian regimes.”

The allegation involving satellite imagery, however, remains disputed.

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

Beijing has denied providing military or intelligence support to Iran.

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

“Both China and Iran have not confirmed the sharing of satellite images [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 purchases of discounted Iranian oil.

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

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

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

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

“He can open that strait with a phone call,” Kennedy said, accusing China of assisting Iran with military equipment and intelligence.

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

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

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

According to China’s official Xinhua news agency, Xi told Trump that Beijing supports Washington and Tehran returning to a previous agreement aimed at ending the war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump had already signaled that he was reluctant to confront Xi publicly over allegations of Chinese intelligence support for Iran.