Chinese companies have been discussing arms sales with Iran, plotting to send the weapons through other countries to mask the origins of the military aid, according to U.S. officials.
The United States has gathered intelligence that Chinese companies and Iranian officials have discussed the arms transfers. It is not clear how many, if any, arms have been shipped or to what degree Chinese officials have approved the sales.
The new disclosure is likely to intensify pressure on President Trump to raise the issue while he is in Beijing this week. But whether Mr. Trump will remains a question. While he has pressured leaders of smaller countries during their visits to the White House, Mr. Trump seems intent on resetting the relationship with President Xi Jinping during his meetings in China.
Mr. Trump said on Tuesday that he planned to have a “long talk” with Mr. Xi about the conflict in the Middle East and added that the Chinese leader had been “relatively good” on Iran.
Officials briefed on the intelligence have reached different conclusions on whether the arms have already been sent to the third countries. But no Chinese weapons appear to have been used on the battlefield against U.S. or Israeli forces since they began their war against Iran in late February.
The New York Times reported last month that U.S. intelligence agencies had obtained information showing that China may have transferred shoulder-fired missiles, known as MANPADS, to Iran. Such weapons are capable of shooting down low-flying aircraft. Intelligence also showed that China was considering other shipments of the weaponry.
U.S. officials have been trying subtly, and not so subtly, to pressure China to reduce its support to Iran in the conflict.
Mr. Trump arrived in Beijing on Wednesday, and officials in his administration hope to avoid complicating his trip. But American officials believe that efforts by China to provide military equipment to Iran are unacceptable and want the Chinese government to block any arms transfers.
The U.S. officials interviewed for this article spoke on the condition of anonymity given the sensitive nature of the information and the awkward timing with Mr. Trump’s travel to China.
The Iranian mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Iran has provided few details of their cooperation with China, but the Iranian foreign minister said in March that Iran had received “military cooperation” from China and Russia but provided no details.
The officials said they do not believe that the Chinese government has formally approved the efforts to support Iran. But the talks between Chinese companies and Iran are unlikely to have occurred without the knowledge of the government, they said.
American officials said that at least one of the third countries was in Africa. It is not clear whether any shipment had reached that country.
After the initial reporting on the MANPADS shipments, Mr. Trump said he had asked Mr. Xi not to allow any arms transfers to Iran.
“I wrote him a letter asking him not to do that, and he wrote me a letter saying that, essentially, he’s not doing that,” Mr. Trump told Fox Business Network in an interview.
Since the beginning of the war, China has given Iran intelligence and access to a spy satellite that has tracked the positions of U.S. forces in the region. China has also supplied dual-use components that Iran needs to produce drones, missiles and other weaponry.
Providing dual-use components, like semiconductors, sensors and voltage converters that can also be used in civilian manufacturing, draws less scrutiny than arms sales. China has also supplied Russia with such components throughout its war in Ukraine.
But finished weapons are a different matter. The plan to send arms through other countries shows that Beijing wants to keep the transfers to Iran secret.
China is a major buyer of sanctioned Iranian oil, which Tehran sells to Beijing at below market rates. China buys about 80 percent of the oil Iran exports.
While the relationship is lopsided and the trade relationship is far more important to Iran than China, Beijing has an interest in supporting Tehran.
China depends heavily on the oil that usually flows through the Strait of Hormuz. The energy relationship gives China an incentive to show its support for Iran, particularly if it wants tankers headed to its markets to be able to pass through the strait.
But the war has essentially cut off shipping through the strait, and a cease-fire reached weeks ago has struggled to restore regular traffic. That has created problems for China. The country has weathered the situation better than other major nations, but the conflict is putting pressure on its export markets.
Julian E. Barnes covers the U.S. intelligence agencies and international security matters for The Times. He has written about security issues for more than two decades.
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