Republican Rep. John Moolenaar, chair of the House Select Committee on China, urged President Donald Trump in a letter Friday to take a hard line with Xi Jinping at next week's summit. He pressed Trump to raise China's alleged support for Iran, tighten technology restrictions, and reject Chinese pressure over Taiwan and US arms sales.
Moolenaar sent a letter to Trump on Friday urging him to press Xi Jinping on China's alleged support for Iran ahead of next week's summit, aimed at stabilizing US-China relations. The outreach reflects concern among China hawks in Washington that Trump could offer Xi too many concessions.
Iran support raised as "major escalation"
The letter tells Trump to raise reports that Chinese entities provided targeting support for Iranian strikes that killed US service members, which Moolenaar described as a major escalation. He wrote that Beijing enabling adversaries like Iran "is tantamount to an act of war against the United States", according to Reuters, and should be met with the most severe consequences.
Moolenaar also called for redoubled efforts to keep China from accessing American AI technologies and US and allied semiconductor manufacturing technology, stressing that China remains the United States' foremost foreign adversary and greatest external threat.
Taiwan and arms sales pressure
China hardliners worry Trump will soften US support for Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own and which Washington is obliged by law to help defend. Moolenaar said Chinese objections to US arms sales and security cooperation with Taiwan and other Asian allies should be rejected out of hand, and pressed the administration to keep pressure on Beijing over the detention of US citizens.
Trump has said Xi pressed him on US arms sales to Taiwan during his May visit to Beijing, and he later described a pending package worth up to $14 billion as a negotiating chip. People familiar with Chinese efforts say Beijing also hopes to persuade Trump to state that the US opposes Taiwan's independence, rather than its longstanding formulation that it does not support independence.
Trump downplays satellite report
On Sunday, Trump brushed aside a report that Iran obtained satellite images of a base in Jordan from Chinese entities before a July attack that killed three US troops there, saying both China and the US spy on each other.
Source: Investing.com
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