American President Donald Trump escalated his tone towards China, threatening to impose harsh tariffs on its imports to the United States if Beijing is proven to be providing any military assistance to Iran.
Trump confirmed, in a statement to Fox News, that Washington will respond strongly if any Chinese military support for Tehran is detected, saying: "If we catch them doing that, they will be subjected to 50 percent tariffs, and that's a huge level indeed," in a clear indication of his administration's readiness to use economic tools for political pressure. These statements come at a sensitive time, as the American President is expected to make an official visit to Beijing next month to hold a summit with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, a summit that was scheduled to be organized earlier before it was postponed against the backdrop of the war launched by the United States and Israel on Iran on February 28th. Observers believe that Trump's threats may increase the complexity of American-Chinese relations, especially with the overlap of commercial files with geopolitical crises in the Middle East, which puts the upcoming summit before difficult tests and precise calculations.
