US President Donald Trump dismissed claims on Sunday that Chinese firms provided Tehran with satellite photographs of a military site in Jordan before and after an Iranian strike killed three American servicemen.
“You know, when they say that China spies on us, I say you’re right, and we spy on them too,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One a day after The Wall Street Journal reported Beijing’s intelligence sharing.
“That’s what we do. They basically do what we do,” Trump said.
The incident might exacerbate relations between Washington and Beijing ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s scheduled state visit to the White House on September 24.
Against July 17, Iran launched missile strikes against Jordan’s Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, which houses US personnel. Three United States Army servicemen were killed.
Unnamed American officials quoted in the journal’s reporting did not identify the Chinese firms involved, nor did they indicate that Beijing was directly to fault.
When pressed by US officials, Chinese officials requested verification of the transfer of satellite imagery and refused to acknowledge that Chinese enterprises were involved in delivering satellite photographs to Tehran, according to the Journal late Friday.
Trump has cautioned Beijing not to sell weapons to Iran, and in May, Washington sanctioned three Chinese satellite businesses for facilitating Iran’s military activities.
China is Iran’s primary economic partner, purchasing a significant portion of its oil output, as well as a key diplomatic ally.
Nonetheless, Trump stated of Xi on Sunday that “he’s behaved reasonably well, and we behave reasonably well.”
When asked if he would ever allow Chinese cars to be marketed in the United States, Trump responded, “I haven’t. I’m the one who kept them out. Tariffs kept them out.
