WP: War with Iran strengthens Chinaʼs position and reduces US weapons stockpiles

The US and Israeli war against Iran is increasing Chinaʼs influence in the world and at the same time reducing US military capabilities.

This is reported by The Washington Post, citing a US intelligence report.

As WP writes, since the US and Israel started a war against Iran, China has begun selling weapons to Washingtonʼs allies in the Persian Gulf, who were trying to protect their military bases and oil infrastructure from Iranian missiles and drones.

Beijing has also helped various countries resolve energy supply problems after Iran blocked the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the worldʼs oil and gas supplies pass.

According to experts interviewed by WP, this is not altruism, but a desire to weaken the international authority of the United States. To this end, China has also actively criticized the actions of the United States and Israel in its official statements, calling the war "illegal".

At the same time, the war has depleted American ammunition stocks, which could become critically important in the event of a possible US-China conflict over Taiwan. In particular, this concerns the restriction of supplies of Patriot air defense systems, Tomahawk cruise missiles, and THAAD missile interceptors.

• On the morning of May 14, the US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping met at the Great Hall of the People in China. Trump was in Beijing for the first time in 9 years — he was last there in 2017.

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