Donald Trump has a big task on his hands. And he has a major chance this week.
Now Trump challenged China in a move with huge ramifications.
President Trump has a chance this week to draw a hard line with China’s Xi Jinping: stop bankrolling Iran’s war machine or face consequences.
Jonathan Schanzer of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies laid it out plainly. Chinese help has flowed to Tehran across multiple fronts—drone parts and motors that let the regime attack its neighbors, dual-use chemicals for the missile program, and targeting data that looks far too precise to be homemade. On top of that sits an economic lifeline that keeps the mullahs afloat while they choke global oil markets and threaten the Strait of Hormuz.
“The president needs to tell Xi Jinping that this is a dangerous alliance,” Schanzer said. “These are all things that need to stop. And the hope here is, of course, that Donald Trump is going to make a demand here that Xi Jinping stop all of this.”
The Chinese foreign minister just met his Iranian counterpart in Beijing and offered to play a “constructive role.” Beijing is not embarrassed. Trump should make them feel the heat. A senior administration official notes that the two leaders already agreed Iran must never get a nuclear weapon and that the Strait of Hormuz must reopen without tolls. Now is the time to enforce it.
Taiwan remains the bigger prize for the Chinese Communist Party. America has too much skin in that game—semiconductor capacity that will decide the AI race—to let Xi think he can play both sides. Trump’s strength is the only language Beijing respects. Use it.
Schanzer went further, pointing out that the Chinese government shows no shame about its partnership with Tehran. “When you look at what’s happening here, it’s pretty clear that the Chinese government is just not ashamed of this at all,” he told Fox News Digital. Iran has driven oil prices higher, clogged the Strait of Hormuz, and is eyeing the Bab al-Mandab. All of it happens with Chinese components and Chinese money keeping the regime breathing.
Trump’s previous trip to China in May produced an understanding that Iran would not obtain a nuclear weapon and that the Strait would reopen free of tolls. Those words mean nothing without follow-through. Xi arrives in Washington knowing the United States is locked in a long-term contest for technological and military superiority. Any softness on Iran will be read as weakness on Taiwan.
The semiconductor industry sitting on Taiwan is not a side issue. It is the foundation of American leadership in artificial intelligence. If Beijing concludes it can prop up Iran without cost while squeezing the island, the entire strategic position of the United States weakens. Trump has spent years demonstrating that tariffs, export controls, and personal pressure work better than polite diplomatic language.
This meeting is not a photo opportunity. It is a test of whether the United States will continue to tolerate a Chinese policy that arms a regime openly hostile to American interests and American allies. The expert advice is straightforward: bare teeth, make demands, and leave no doubt that continued support for Iran carries a price. Anything less invites more of the same.
