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U.S. President Donald Trump told Chinese President Xi Jinping during talks in Washington this week that any direct or indirect Chinese assistance to Iran would be "totally unacceptable," U.S. Ambassador to China David Perdue said Friday.
Speaking to CNBC, Perdue said the issue of possible Chinese support for Iran had repeatedly been raised in U.S.-China discussions and was addressed again during Trump's meeting with Xi at the White House on Thursday.
"We made it very clear to them weeks ago that any help that they would give Iran, whether it be direct or indirect, whether it be intelligence, or parts, or military equipment, was totally unacceptable," Perdue said. "President Trump made that very clear again yesterday."
Perdue said Washington remains concerned about what it sees as possible indirect Chinese support for Iran, while acknowledging that the U.S. has no direct evidence that Beijing is helping Tehran keep the contested Strait of Hormuz closed.
"There's been indirect support, we think, but there's no direct evidence," he said, adding that Washington had communicated its concerns to Beijing.
Perdue said Trump and Xi agreed that Iran must never obtain a nuclear weapon and that the Strait of Hormuz should remain open, describing the understandings as significant progress.
He also said Washington had seen indications that Beijing was responding to U.S. warnings.
"We've seen evidence that they have listened to us, they've pulled some things down," Perdue said.
Trump and Xi held talks Thursday and attended a state dinner.
Trump said the two countries have "never gotten along better," while acknowledging that they "represent different systems."
Xi said the two leaders held "sincere and in-depth exchanges" and reached a common understanding on several issues, adding that the talks provided "new strategic guidance" for China-U.S. relations.
China is one of the largest importers of Iranian oil, while Beijing and Tehran maintain a "comprehensive strategic partnership" driven largely by economic ties and discounted energy imports.
Bilateral trade between China and Iran rose to more than $41 billion last year.
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