Democratic lawmakers have urged President Trump to confront Chinese leader Xi Jinping regarding alleged support China has provided to Iran during the ongoing conflict. The letter cites a U.S. intelligence assessment that suggests a Chinese company shared satellite imagery with Iran, leading to an attack on a Jordanian airbase where American troops were stationed in July, resulting in three deaths. Trump and Xi are scheduled to meet this week, and the lawmakers want Trump to condemn China’s role in arming and enabling Iran during their meeting. Representative John Moolenaar, a Republican influential on China policy, also supports addressing Chinese cooperation with Iran that has led to American casualties.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-22,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Before the Xi-Trump summit last week, analysts expected soybeans to be included in tariff-reduced arrangements between China and the U.S., but China excluded them from a tariff-reduction list released on September 28, 2026, despite cutting tariffs on other agricultural goods like corn, wheat, meat, and dairy. This decision disappointed American farmers, such as John Bartman, an Illinois-based soybean farmer who called it "a missed opportunity." U.S. soybeans still face an additional tariff of 10%, which traders say is too high for private crushers to absorb, even as Chinese state buyers have stepped up purchases. Despite this exclusion, both sides agreed to form a trade council to discuss reciprocal tariff cuts on $30 billion worth of products and stabilize economic ties.
Written for “US-China Tariff Cuts Deal” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 283 other(s) covering the same event.
Some lawmakers say Trump should confront Xi over Chinese support for Iran
The U.S. says Chinese companies have shared wartime satellite imagery with Iran.
A group of Democratic lawmakers on Monday wrote a letter to the White House urging President Donald Trump to challenge Chinese President Xi Jinping when they meet later this week over support they allege Beijing has given to Tehran in the Iran war.
asserted
Beijing → say → war
Trump and Xi are set to meet Wednesday in Washington in their second summit since the war broke out in February.
asserted
war → set → February
The Democrats, who are all veterans of the armed services, cited a Sept. 11 Wall Street Journal report that a U.S. assessment found that a Chinese company's provision of satellite imagery supported an Iranian strike on an airbase in Jordan in July.
asserted
provision → cite → July
Three U.S. soldiers died in the attack.
asserted
soldiers → die → attack
"Our servicemembers are paying the price in blood for this administration's pathetic refusal to confront Beijing," Reps. Pat Ryan, Seth Moulton, Ted Lieu, Chrissy Houlahan, Jason Crow and eight other Democrats wrote in the letter, which they shared with ABC News.
asserted
they → pay → News
Trump "has an important opportunity to condemn China's role in arming and enabling Iran, and to demand an end to their support," the lawmakers added.
asserted
lawmakers → have → support
Rep. John Moolenaar, an influential Republican on China policy as the chairman of the House Select Committee on China, said Chinese cooperation with the Iranian military resulting in American casualties "is tantamount to an act of war against the United States."
asserted
cooperation → say → States
In a separate letter addressed to the president last week, Moolenaar wrote the reported link between Chinese imagery and lethal Iranian attacks "mark[s] a dramatic unilateral escalation."
asserted
link → address → escalation
The State Department in May sanctioned four China-based entities "for providing satellite imagery that enables Iran's military strikes against U.S. forces in the Middle East."
uncertain
that → sanction → East
One company collected images during the war of U.S. facilities at Iran's request, the department said.
asserted
department → collect → request
China denies its state-owned companies support Iran's war effort.
asserted
companies → deny → effort
Asked earlier this month whether he would raise the issue when he comes to Washington, Trump told reporters that the Chinese "basically do what we do."
"I think he’s behaved reasonably well," Trump said of Xi on Sept. 13.
asserted
Trump → ask → Sept.
"When they say that China spies on us, I say, 'You’re right, and we spy on them too,' you know?
asserted
you → say → them
We spy on them too."
asserted
We → spy → them
Ryan, a New York Democrat and a former Army intelligence officer who served in the Iraq war, said information could be "dangerous…in the wrong hands."
"What's worse is that Trump knows, too, and hasn’t done a thing to stop it," Ryan said.
uncertain
Ryan → serve → it
Evan Medeiros, a China analyst at The Asia Group and a former National Security Council official in the Obama administration, said he expected the U.S. to focus on the energy crisis wrought by the war in summit discussions.
asserted
U.S. → say → discussions
The U.S. would likely ask Chinese counterparts for assistance in isolating Iran's economy from global markets, which has been the administration’s recent strategy in the war, he said.
asserted
he → ask → war
“I think the Chinese are going to be incredibly reluctant, and … they will want a side payment for it," Medeiros said.
asserted
Medeiros → think → it
"I would not expect much to happen in the space."
asserted
much → expect → space
Satellite image sharing, with potentially deadly consequences for U.S. troops in the region, was at the top of a list of priorities Moolenaar spelled out in his letter ahead of Trump's engagements with Xi.
asserted
Moolenaar → spell → Xi
"We should expect the [Chinese Communist Party] to continue this murderous treachery unless consequences are imposed," he wrote.
asserted
he → expect → treachery
The Aporia
