US envoy Perdue: Xi told Trump China is “looking into” help for Iran

US Ambassador to China David Perdue said Chinese President Xi Jinping assured Donald Trump that changes had been made and Beijing was looking into its support for Iran, after Trump called any Chinese help to Tehran “totally unacceptable.”

US Ambassador to China David Perdue said President Donald Trump told Chinese President Xi Jinping during last week’s summit in Washington that any Chinese assistance to Iran was unacceptable. “Trump has made it very clear that any help that China would give Iran, whether it be intelligence or parts or direct military equipment, would be totally unacceptable,” Perdue said on Fox News Sunday. “Xi assured him that changes had been made, that they were looking into it.”

In an interview on Friday, Perdue had said Beijing “assured us that they aren’t doing that” and that Washington had “seen movement” on the issue, without giving details. China has publicly denied supplying Iran with military help during the conflict.

Doubts remain over Beijing’s cooperation. On September 23, a flight operated by sanctioned Iranian carrier Mahan Air landed in Guangzhou, according to FlightRadar24 data, despite US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s warning that countries providing landing services to Iranian aircraft would be cut off from the dollar system. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said Beijing opposes “illegal unilateral sanctions” not authorized by the UN Security Council.