Discussion · Senate
Jeanne Shaheen Democrat
“I want President Trump to confront China about its support for Iran. Chinese companies give Iran satellite images used to attack our troops, supply parts for Iranian weapons, and buy most of Iran's oil. The president must tell China to stop this support and enforce our sanctions. If China will not stop, Congress should punish them.”
“Mr. President, well, one issue that I hope will be at the top of the agenda when President Trump meets with Xi Jinping on Thursday is China’s support for Iran. Two months ago, Iranian ballistic missiles struck the housing area at the U.S. airbase in Jordan. That attack killed three American soldiers and wounded four more. United States officials told the Wall Street Journal--and we can see this mockup of that article--that Iran got high-resolution satellite imagery of that base from Chinese entities before the attack. Unfortunately, this wasn’t a surprise because senior Trump officials had warned for months that Chinese companies were giving Iran imagery that could be used to target American personnel. In May, the administration sanctioned several Chinese companies over precisely that activity. Senate Foreign Relations Committee staff recently returned from the Middle East, where they saw the damage Iran’s attacks have done to United States facilities. It is not only satellite imagery that Iran relies on to carry out attacks against Americans. China also provides a critical economic lifeline to Iran. According to the Treasury Department, 90 percent of Iran’s oil exports go to China. That is billions of dollars in revenue for the Iranian regime, and much of that oil is sold in defiance of United States sanctions, through shadow fleets, front companies, and Chinese refineries. That money supports Iran’s military, its weapons programs, and its terrorist proxies. China is also a source of the parts and materials that Iran needs to build its weapons. The United States Treasury Department has repeatedly sanctioned Chinese and Hong Kong companies for supplying components for Iran’s ballistic missiles and attack drones. Those are the same types of weapons that Iran is using to attack American forces. This cannot be treated as a side issue. When President Trump sits across from President Xi at the White House, he should use his leverage to do three things: first, to stop Chinese companies from giving Iran satellite imagery and targeting support; second, stop Chinese networks from supplying parts for Iran’s missiles and drones; and third, stop the purchase and trade of sanctioned Iranian oil. If we want to bring this war to an end, we need to cut off the outside support that allows Iran to keep fighting, and that starts with China. The administration should enforce our sanctions against the Chinese entities helping Iran, and if China doesn’t stop, Congress should impose additional consequences. I hope the President will also think about the weapon that Congress gave him when we passed the Russia sanctions bill because it allows us to tariff the Chinese companies that are purchasing Russian oil and gas. China is the No. 1 purchaser of Russian oil and gas, so they are the top funder of the war in Ukraine as well as being one of the top funders of the war in Iran. So I hope the President will take this opportunity to use the tools that we have given him and to point out to President Xi that China needs to start behaving differently. I yield the floor.”
Mr. President, well, one issue that I hope will be at the top of the agenda when President Trump meets with Xi Jinping on Thursday is China’s support for Iran. Two months ago, Iranian ballistic missiles struck the housing area at the U.S. airbase in Jordan. That attack killed three American soldiers and wounded four more. United States officials told the Wall Street Journal--and we can see this mockup of that article--that Iran got high-resolution satellite imagery of that base from Chinese entities before the attack. Unfortunately, this wasn’t a surprise because senior Trump officials had warned for months that Chinese companies were giving Iran imagery that could be used to target American personnel. In May, the administration sanctioned several Chinese companies over precisely that activity. Senate Foreign Relations Committee staff recently returned from the Middle East, where they saw the damage Iran’s attacks have done to United States facilities. It is not only satellite imagery that Iran relies on to carry out attacks against Americans. China also provides a critical economic lifeline to Iran. According to the Treasury Department, 90 percent of Iran’s oil exports go to China. That is billions of dollars in revenue for the Iranian regime, and much of that oil is sold in defiance of United States sanctions, through shadow fleets, front companies, and Chinese refineries. That money supports Iran’s military, its weapons programs, and its terrorist proxies. China is also a source of the parts and materials that Iran needs to build its weapons. The United States Treasury Department has repeatedly sanctioned Chinese and Hong Kong companies for supplying components for Iran’s ballistic missiles and attack drones. Those are the same types of weapons that Iran is using to attack American forces. This cannot be treated as a side issue. When President Trump sits across from President Xi at the White House, he should use his leverage to do three things: first, to stop Chinese companies from giving Iran satellite imagery and targeting support; second, stop Chinese networks from supplying parts for Iran’s missiles and drones; and third, stop the purchase and trade of sanctioned Iranian oil. If we want to bring this war to an end, we need to cut off the outside support that allows Iran to keep fighting, and that starts with China. The administration should enforce our sanctions against the Chinese entities helping Iran, and if China doesn’t stop, Congress should impose additional consequences. I hope the President will also think about the weapon that Congress gave him when we passed the Russia sanctions bill because it allows us to tariff the Chinese companies that are purchasing Russian oil and gas. China is the No. 1 purchaser of Russian oil and gas, so they are the top funder of the war in Ukraine as well as being one of the top funders of the war in Iran. So I hope the President will take this opportunity to use the tools that we have given him and to point out to President Xi that China needs to start behaving differently. I yield the floor.