Is China providing military aid to Iran?

China vehemently denies providing military assistance to Iran and threatens countermeasures against the US if tariffs are imposed based on these allegations, amidst rising tensions and a rescheduled summit between Presidents Trump and Xi Jinping.

Spokesperson of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, Lin Jian, called the claims of military cooperation between Beijing and Tehran as "purely fabricated" and warned that China would defend its economic interests against any punitive American trade policies.

"Media reports accusing China of providing military support to Iran are purely fabricated. If the U.S. goes ahead with tariff hikes on China on the basis of these accusations, China will respond with countermeasures," Lin Jian said on X.

China's statement came after a report by the Financial Times which claimed that Iran had acquired a Chinese satellite, identified as TEE-01B, to target US military bases in the Middle East. 

US Concerns and Diplomatic Efforts

Earlier, US President Donald Trump said that Chinese President Xi Jinping has not reached out to him yet over the Middle East conflict, but he would like to see the war ended.

Talking to reporters, Trump said, "No, but we have a very good relationship with China. He would like to see this ended also. He certainly wants it ended. Everyone, I want to see it ended too, but we can't give a nuclear weapon to a group of people that have caused nothing but havoc for 47 years."

Responding to a question egarding US intelligence inputs and possible communication with the Chinese leadership, Trump clarified that he had not directly spoken to Xi on the matter, but cautioned that Beijing would face consequences if it extended military support to Tehran.

"If China does that, China will have big problems, OK?" Trump said.

Rescheduled Meeting Between Trump and Xi

Amid these developments, Trump confirmed that his previously postponed visit to China has been rescheduled for next month.

In a detailed post on Truth Social, Trump confirmed the revised schedule and outlined plans for reciprocal diplomatic engagement between Washington and Beijing.

"My meeting with the Highly Respected President of China, President Xi Jinping, which was originally postponed due to our Military operation in Iran, has been rescheduled and will take place in Beijing on May 14th and 15th. First Lady Melania and I will also host President Xi and Madame Peng for a reciprocal visit in Washington, D.C., at a later date this year," he stated.