President Donald Trump's efforts to reach a lasting agreement with Iran will depend in large part on confronting China's support for Tehran, China analyst and author Gordon Chang said Sunday on Newsmax TV.
Chang told guest host Joe Pinion on "Sunday Agenda" that Beijing was far from neutral during the conflict involving Iran and continues to play a crucial role in sustaining the regime.
"We know that during the war in Iran, China didn't stay neutral," Chang said. "They were supplying weapons and targeting data to the Iranians, and that targeting data was used on March 1 to kill six Americans."
Chang argued that China's backing of Tehran complicates any attempt to stabilize the region.
"So, we know the Chinese are there, that they're fully behind the Iranian regime, and they're behind Iran's actions," he said. "And it's going to be very important for President Trump to separate the two, because if you can't separate the two, then a solution in the Gulf looks much more difficult."
His comments came amid renewed questions about Iran's intentions following reports surrounding the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global oil shipping route.
China is Iran's largest oil customer and has long been accused by U.S. officials of helping Tehran evade sanctions.
Chang said Beijing appears poised to benefit if oil flows through the region continue uninterrupted.
"The Chinese are licking their chops," he said. "They think they've got everything they want, and they're going to be especially hard to deal with."
He also pointed to what he described as China's increasingly aggressive behavior in the Indo-Pacific, saying Beijing intensified pressure on Taiwan and the Philippines following Trump's recent visit to China.
Chang urged the administration to apply greater economic pressure on China and Iran.
"During the course of the war, President Trump allowed Iran to sell oil to China through those land routes," Chang said. "And I don't know what was going on there, but clearly it supported the Iranian regime."
He also cited illicit ship-to-ship oil transfers off Malaysia's coast as another avenue through which China has obtained Iranian crude.
Leverage, Chang said, remains essential.
"You need leverage, especially with the Iranian regime," he said. "You have to have enormous leverage on them."
At the same time, Chang said Trump's approach is uniquely his own.
"President Trump has a very unconventional way of doing things," he said. "If this works out, nobody else can claim credit but him. But if it fails, he can blame nobody else for this because he has done some things which are really, really unusual.
"So, I hope that it works out. But the point is, leverage is absolutely critical."
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