Shocking revelation during Trump's visit to China: Have the U.S. caught Beijing in secret talks with Tehran?

On April 10, CNN reported U.S. intelligence indicating that Beijing was preparing to supply Iran with man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS), a type of anti-aircraft missile system.

At the time, two sources told CNN that there were already signs China was trying to conceal the origin of the weapons by routing shipments through other countries.

U.S. officials and Trump urge Beijing to halt arms sales to Iran

According to the New York Times, U.S. officials are increasingly pushing for greater pressure on Beijing to reduce its support for Iran. They reportedly consider Chinese efforts to supply Tehran with weapons unacceptable and want the Chinese government to block the sales.

The New York Times report was published after U.S. President Donald Trump arrived in Beijing for the first U.S. presidential visit to China in nearly a decade, to meet with Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping.

Trump had previously attempted to dissuade Xi from continuing weapons transfers.

After the alleged Chinese plan to deliver air-defense systems was uncovered, Trump told Fox Business Network that he personally wrote a letter to Xi asking him to block such sales.

“I wrote him a letter asking him not to do it, and he wrote me a letter saying, in essence, that he wouldn’t do it,” Trump said about the incident.