US President Donald Trump warned Chinese President Xi Jinping during their White House talks that Washington would consider any Chinese assistance to Iran “totally unacceptable,” according to US Ambassador to China David Perdue.
Speaking to CNBC on Friday, Perdue said concerns over possible Chinese support for Tehran had been raised with Beijing previously and were discussed again when Trump and Xi met on Thursday.
“We made it very clear to them weeks ago that any help that they would give Iran, whether it be direct or indirect, whether it be intelligence, or parts, or military equipment, was totally unacceptable,” Perdue said. “President Trump made that very clear again yesterday.”
The ambassador said Washington suspected some indirect Chinese support for Iran but acknowledged that the US had no direct evidence that Beijing was assisting Tehran in keeping the contested Strait of Hormuz closed.
“There’s been indirect support, we think, but there’s no direct evidence,” Perdue said.
According to the ambassador, Trump and Xi agreed during their discussions that Iran should not acquire a nuclear weapon and that the Strait of Hormuz should remain open. He described those understandings as significant progress.
Perdue also claimed there were signs that Beijing had responded to Washington’s warnings. “We’ve seen evidence that they have listened to us, they’ve pulled some things down,” he said, without providing further details.
Thursday’s talks were followed by a state dinner. Trump said the United States and China had “never gotten along better,” while noting that the two countries “represent different systems.”
Xi described the discussions as “sincere and in-depth exchanges” and said the two leaders had reached a common understanding on several issues, providing “new strategic guidance” for US-China relations.
China maintains a “comprehensive strategic partnership” with Iran and is a major buyer of Iranian oil. According to the figures provided in the report, bilateral trade between China and Iran exceeded $41 billion last year.