The Trump administration is ramping pressure on China over what U.S. officials describe as Beijings economic and material support for Iran and Russia ahead of President upcoming summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
A senior administration official told reporters Sunday that Trump already has spoken “multiple times” with Xi about “the revenue that China provides to both those regimes and therefore as well as dual use goods, components and parts, not to mention the potential of weapons exports.”
“I expect that conversation to continue,” the official said during a White House preview call ahead of Trumps trip to Beijing.
The comments underscore how deeply Iran and Russia have become intertwined with the broader U.S.âChina relationship, with the administration increasingly framing Beijing not only as an economic competitor but also as a critical enabler of adversarial regimes.
“You’ve seen some actions, meaning sanctions coming out from the U.S. side just in the last few days that I’m sure will be part of that conversation,” the official added.
China ordered firms in early May to ignore U.S. sanctions targeting Iranian oil, a direct test of the U.S. crackdown.
A new directive, issued through Chinas Commerce Ministry Sunday, invokes a 2021 “blocking statute” that prohibits firms from complying with foreign sanctions deemed illegitimate. The order applies to several Chinese refiners accused by the U.S. of purchasing Iranian crude, including major independent processors known as “teapot” refineries.
The move represents a shift from years of opaque workarounds to more explicit state-backed resistance, as Beijing signals it will not cooperate with U.S. efforts to cut off a key source of revenue for Iran.
U.S. officials increasingly have accused China of helping sustain Irans military and economic capabilities through oil purchases, dual-use exports and intermediary networks tied to Tehrans drone and missile programs.
Chinese officials pushed back on the allegations, saying Beijing follows strict export controls and accusing Washington of mischaracterizing its role.
“China always acts prudently and responsibly on the export of military products, and exercises strict control in accordance with Chinas laws and regulations on export control and due international obligations,” Chinese Embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu said.
“China opposes groundless smear and ill-intentioned association,” Liu added. “The pressing priority is to make every effort to prevent by all means a relapse in fighting, rather than exploiting the conflict to maliciously smear other nations.”
Liu also emphasized that China is prepared to work with the United States to “expand cooperation and manage differences in the spirit of equality, respect and mutual benefit.”
“China, lets see them step up with some diplomacy and get the Iranians to open the strait,” Bessent said in a Fox News interview May 4.
“Iran is the largest state sponsor of terrorism ⦠China has been buying 90 percent of their energy, so they are funding the largest state sponsor of terrorism,” he added.
Chinese officials have repeatedly defended Beijings trade relationship with Iran as “normal economic cooperation” and criticized U.S. sanctions as unilateral measures that interfere with legitimate trade.
China has become Irans largest economic lifeline in recent years, purchasing the overwhelming majority of Iranian oil exports despite U.S. sanctions. Analysts and U.S. government reports have said those purchases generate billions of dollars in revenue for Iran and help fund the regimes military activities and regional proxy networks.
The Treasury Department also has repeatedly sanctioned Chinese and Hong Kong-based companies accused of helping Iran procure materials and components linked to ballistic missiles and drones, including parts tied to the Shahed drone program. U.S. officials have raised concerns a
