Beijing / Washington / Tehran — September 27, 2026
China has reportedly begun scaling back its support for Iran after President Donald Trump directly urged Chinese leader Xi Jinping to end assistance to Tehran — but the claim comes from the American side, and Iran is telling a very different story.
What Washington Says Happened
According to US Ambassador to China David Perdue, Trump asked Xi to halt any assistance to Iran during the Chinese leader's state visit to Washington this week. Perdue said the message was delivered clearly: any help for Iran, direct or indirect, was "totally unacceptable" to the US.
Perdue told reporters on Friday that Washington has already seen evidence Beijing was listening, saying China had "pulled some things down," and that Chinese officials assured the US they are not providing that support. The US also told Beijing that the Iran war is a separate matter, not linked to Taiwan.
What the US Accuses China Of
Since the war began in late February, US officials have been concerned that China is supplying Iran with air-defense systems and parts for drones and ballistic missiles. One report says at least 1,300 shipments of "dual-use" components, which have civilian uses but can be built into weapons, went from China to Iran's defense ministry this year.
There are also reports that Iranian forces obtained satellite imagery of a Jordanian military base from Chinese sources before an attack in July that killed three US troops. China also remains the only major buyer of Iranian oil, a financial lifeline for Tehran as the US runs a massive economic pressure campaign. US lawmakers had urged Trump to confront Xi over the reports.
The Other Side: Beijing and Tehran
Chinese state media presented Xi's message differently: he urged Trump to de-escalate with Iran by returning to the memorandum of understanding reached in June and pursuing a nuclear deal, saying China encourages all parties to stay committed to peaceful solutions.
More striking, a senior Iranian official told Reuters that Chinese officials assured Tehran that Beijing will not limit its economic, political or military ties with Iran under pressure from Trump. That directly contradicts the American account, and neither claim has been independently verified.
Why China Is in a Squeeze
Beijing has its own reasons to want the conflict over. China gets roughly half of its oil from the Middle East, and Iran's disruption of the Strait of Hormuz, which carries about a fifth of the world's oil, could deliver a major shock to its supply. China also has large investments in Gulf states such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE, where Iranian retaliatory strikes have hit civilian targets. At the same time, analysts note a prolonged US entanglement in the Middle East could ease strategic pressure on Beijing elsewhere.
The Bottom Line
Whether China has truly reduced its support for Iran is now a "he said, she said" story, with Washington claiming movement and Tehran claiming nothing has changed. With US-Iran talks expected to continue this week, watch for concrete signs, such as shipment data and oil purchases, that show which account is closer to the truth.
This is a developing and politically sensitive story. The claim that China has reduced support for Iran comes from US officials and is disputed by an Iranian official; it has not been independently verified.