The president of the United States, Donald Trump, has launched this Sunday a serious warning: he will apply 50% tariffs to imports from any country that collaborates with Iran by sending military material, directly pointing to China as a possible recipient of these sanctions.
In an interview granted to the Fox News channel, Trump has commented that he has received reports about alleged Chinese military support to Tehran. "I have heard news, although I don't always believe the news, that say China gives shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles. I don't know if it's accurate. I doubt they would do that. Maybe they did it at the beginning," he pointed out, showing his reservations about the veracity of that data.
The leader has insisted that Washington's response would be immediate if that military aid is proven. "If we catch any country, including China, providing military material to Iran, they will have a 50% tariff," he reiterated, making it clear that the threat extends to any state that supplies weapons to the Islamic Republic.
Trump has also taken the opportunity to propose an energy alternative to Beijing, offering American crude as a substitute for Iranian or Venezuelan. "As far as China is concerned, China can send us its ships. China can send its ships to Venezuela... We have a lot of overproduction and we would probably sell it to them for even less money," he pointed out, alluding to the United States' oil surplus.
Despite the harshness of his message, Trump has remarked that he maintains a fluid relationship with the Chinese president, Xi Jinping. As he has explained, he has "a very good relationship" with the Asian leader and has assured that "we work very well together", defending that his Administration's policy towards Beijing has been "tough, but fair".
In this context, he recalled the levies imposed on cars manufactured in China, and maintained that, had it not acted, the United States would have found itself in a situation similar to the European one, where, according to his view, Chinese brands are gaining ground on traditional manufacturers. In his opinion, in Europe "they are destroying Europe because they are taking a large part of the business from Mercedes, BMW,...".
Trump's statements come after the American network CNN reported on Saturday, citing intelligence sources, that China would be preparing to send Iran a new anti-aircraft defense system that could be operational in a few weeks. According to those sources, the transfer of the weaponry would be carried out through third countries in order to make it difficult for Washington to track the real origin of the material.
According to those reports, these would be portable anti-aircraft missile systems, known as MANPAD, designed to be used from the shoulder and especially effective in asymmetric conflicts against American aircraft flying at low altitude.
Chinese authorities have flatly rejected these accusations. "China has never provided weaponry to any of the parties in conflict. THE information in question is not true," a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington affirmed, in statements collected by CNN, denying any shipment of weapons to Iran.
The background of these suspicions dates back to last April 3, when a U.S. F-15 fighter was shot down over Iranian territory by a portable heat-seeking missile. Tehran then assured that it had used a "new" anti-aircraft system, without offering more details about its origin or characteristics, which has fueled speculation about possible foreign assistance.