Should Trump Confront Xi Over China's Alleged Iran Support?

A group of Democratic lawmakers wants President Donald Trump to press Chinese President Xi Jinping over U.S. intelligence findings that a Chinese company supplied satellite imagery used to help direct an Iranian strike that killed three American soldiers, according to a letter shared with ABC News. Trump and Xi are scheduled to meet Wednesday in Washington, their second summit since the Iran war began in February.

What are Democrats asking Trump to do?

Reps. Pat Ryan, Seth Moulton, Ted Lieu, Chrissy Houlahan, Jason Crow and eight other Democrats, all military veterans, wrote to the White House on Monday citing a Sept. 11 Wall Street Journal report on a U.S. assessment that Chinese-provided satellite imagery supported a July Iranian strike on an airbase in Jordan. "Our servicemembers are paying the price in blood for this administration's pathetic refusal to confront Beijing," the lawmakers wrote, adding that Trump "has an important opportunity to condemn China's role in arming and enabling Iran, and to demand an end to their support."

"What's worse is that Trump knows, too, and hasn't done a thing to stop it." — Rep. Pat Ryan, D-N.Y.

What evidence links Chinese companies to the attack?

The State Department sanctioned four China-based entities in May "for providing satellite imagery that enables Iran's military strikes against U.S. forces in the Middle East," according to the department's action cited by ABC News. One of the sanctioned companies collected images of U.S. facilities during the war at Iran's request, the department said.

How has China responded to the allegations?

Beijing denies that its state-owned companies support Iran's war effort, according to ABC News. Rep. John Moolenaar, chairman of the House Select Committee on China, wrote to Trump last week that Chinese cooperation resulting in American casualties "is tantamount to an act of war against the United States" and called the reported link "a dramatic unilateral escalation."

What has Trump said about confronting Xi?

Asked earlier this month whether he would raise the issue in Washington, Trump told reporters the Chinese "basically do what we do," adding, "I think he's behaved reasonably well." On Chinese espionage, Trump said, "When they say that China spies on us, I say, 'You're right, and we spy on them too,' you know? We spy on them too."

What is likely to dominate the Trump-Xi summit instead?

Evan Medeiros, a China analyst at The Asia Group and a former National Security Council official, said he expects the summit to focus on the energy crisis produced by the war rather than the imagery allegations, with U.S. officials likely pressing Chinese counterparts on broader war-related fallout.

Key terms in the dispute

Sanctions — Treasury or State Department measures freezing assets or barring transactions with named entities. Satellite imagery — commercial or state-collected overhead photography that can reveal troop positions or facility layouts. Assessment — an intelligence community judgment, not necessarily public evidence, about a foreign actor's actions.