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The spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, Guo Jiakun, warned this Tuesday that Beijing will take countermeasures if Washington imposes additional tariffs based on accusations that China is providing military support to Iran.
Jiakun described the media reports regarding this alleged support as "completely fabricated" and reaffirmed that China acts prudently in its exports of military products. "If the U.S. insists on using this as an excuse to impose additional tariffs on China, China will take resolute countermeasures", declared the spokesperson at a press conference in Beijing.
The warning directly responds to a threat made by President Donald Trump last Sunday in an interview on Fox News, in which he announced a 50% tariff on all Chinese goods if Beijing provided military assistance to Tehran.
Trump based his threat on intelligence reports published by CNN last Saturday, citing three sources familiar with the intelligence, which indicated that China was preparing to deliver portable air defense missile systems to Iran in the coming weeks, possibly routed through third countries to conceal their Chinese origin.
The New York Times also published reports that weekend about possible missile shipments from China to Iran.
China has rejected the accusations from the very beginning. A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington stated to CNN last Saturday: "China has never supplied weapons to any party in the conflict."
The episode takes place in a context of high geopolitical tension. On February 28, 2026, the U.S. and Israel launched Operation Epic Fury, a bombing campaign against Iran's nuclear and missile facilities. The Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, stated that the operation left the Iranian missile program "functionally destroyed" and without combat capability for years.
Following the attacks, a 14-day ceasefire was established, but peace negotiations between Washington and Tehran failed, leading the U.S. to initiate a naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz last Saturday.
China condemned the blockade as a dangerous and irresponsible act that exacerbates tensions and undermines the fragile ceasefire agreement.
Beijing has a direct strategic interest in the conflict: it is the main importer of Iranian oil and Iran’s largest economic partner, with bilateral trade in non-military goods reaching $9.96 billion in 2025.
The tariff threat on Sunday is not the first. On April 8, Trump had already warned of a 50% tariff on any country that supplied weapons to Iran, directly targeting China and Russia for their veto in the UN Security Council.
Analysts describe the relationship between China and Iran as transactional, without a formal military alliance, complicating the interpretation of Beijing's intentions in the conflict.
Trump is scheduled to visit Beijing next month for talks with President Xi Jinping regarding tariffs and other bilateral matters.
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