President Trump will soon be off to Beijing to meet with Red Chinese Dictator Xi Jinping. Many conservatives have suggested the President postpone or cancel the visit due to the hostilities with Iran and Red China’s demonstrated assistance to our enemy, the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Last week the Committee on the Present Danger: China, of which CHQ is a member, hosted an important webinar during which our friend Capt. James Fanell, U.S. Navy, (Ret.), made this point about the Communist Chinese role in the current hostilities with Iran:
Any time we have proof positive the Chinese are arming the Iranians to attack us, that should be a lever the President can use: “Listen, I’m not coming until you knock this off.”
Likewise, our friend Col. Grant Newsham, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.), in the same webinar agreed, saying:
…when another country kills close to a million of your own people, you might think, “Maybe they’re not our friends. Maybe there’s no deal to be cut by talking to them.” I wouldn’t go, but I’m not the President.
And from our perspective, Capt. Fanell and Col. Newsham are right, there is no deal to be cut.
There may be, however, a hammer to be dropped on Xi and his allies in the unrestricted war on America faction of the Communist Chinese People’s Liberation Army.
And that hammer is our current chokehold on crucial oil supplies to Red China.
Red China used to be the largest purchaser of Venezuelan oil, importing approximately 400,000 to 470,000 barrels per day (bpd) in 2025-2026, which accounted for over half of Venezuela's total crude exports and roughly 4–4.5% of China's total seaborne crude imports.
After Venezuelan Dictator Nicolas Maduro was arrested to removed to prison in America that supply was cutoff.
Likewise, Red China imports approximately 1.38 to 1.4 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil from Iran. This accounts for about 12% to 13.4% of China's total seaborne crude imports. China is the primary buyer of Iranian oil, purchasing over 80% to 90% of Iran's total exported crude.
Our current blockade of Iranian exports has cut that flow down to zero.
So, as of right now we control at least 15%, maybe as much as 20% of the oil Communist China used to obtain – at below market prices – from its anti-American allies Venezuela and the Islamic Republic of Iran.
And our chokehold on oil is the hammer President Trump should drop on Xi, and the Communist Chinese.
And that would be a twofer, as Rod D. Martin observed in a recent post to his must-read Substack, over the past decades, Beijing has purchased as much as 90 percent of Iran’s oil despite U.S. sanctions. Oil revenue has kept the Iranian economy afloat, with funds channeled to its military. It has also provided China with a steeply discounted energy source and a platform to conduct business in Chinese yuan, hence bypassing U.S. sanctions in the dollar system.
Cutting off funds to the Iranian military means restricting its revenue stream from its oil exports, thereby intensifying the economic pressure on the Islamic Republic.
So, our advice to President Trump is this: Forget about all the demands from the supply chain billionaires about trade deals and more accommodation with our Communist Chinese enemy. If you have to go to Communist China and meet with the architect of Red China’s unrestricted, all-domain warfare against America, go there to drop the hammer, not make a deal. Tell Xi the oil supply from Venezuela and the Islamic Republic of Iran is gone until we are satisfied Red China’s clandestine, but very real, war on America has been called off.
George Rasley is editor of Richard Viguerie's ConservativeHQ.com and is a veteran of over 300 political campaigns. A member of American MENSA, he served on the staff of Vice President Dan Quayle, as Director of Policy and Communication for former Congressman Adam Putnam (FL-12) then Vice Chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee's Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs, and as spokesman for retired Rep. Mac Thornberry formerly a member of the House Intelligence Committee and Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee.
Last week the Committee on the Present Danger: China, of which CHQ is a member, hosted an important webinar during which our friend Capt. James Fanell, U.S. Navy, (Ret.), made this point about the Communist Chinese role in the current hostilities with Iran:
Any time we have proof positive the Chinese are arming the Iranians to attack us, that should be a lever the President can use: “Listen, I’m not coming until you knock this off.”
Likewise, our friend Col. Grant Newsham, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.), in the same webinar agreed, saying:
…when another country kills close to a million of your own people, you might think, “Maybe they’re not our friends. Maybe there’s no deal to be cut by talking to them.” I wouldn’t go, but I’m not the President.
And from our perspective, Capt. Fanell and Col. Newsham are right, there is no deal to be cut.
There may be, however, a hammer to be dropped on Xi and his allies in the unrestricted war on America faction of the Communist Chinese People’s Liberation Army.
And that hammer is our current chokehold on crucial oil supplies to Red China.
Red China used to be the largest purchaser of Venezuelan oil, importing approximately 400,000 to 470,000 barrels per day (bpd) in 2025-2026, which accounted for over half of Venezuela's total crude exports and roughly 4–4.5% of China's total seaborne crude imports.
After Venezuelan Dictator Nicolas Maduro was arrested to removed to prison in America that supply was cutoff.
Likewise, Red China imports approximately 1.38 to 1.4 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil from Iran. This accounts for about 12% to 13.4% of China's total seaborne crude imports. China is the primary buyer of Iranian oil, purchasing over 80% to 90% of Iran's total exported crude.
Our current blockade of Iranian exports has cut that flow down to zero.
So, as of right now we control at least 15%, maybe as much as 20% of the oil Communist China used to obtain – at below market prices – from its anti-American allies Venezuela and the Islamic Republic of Iran.
And our chokehold on oil is the hammer President Trump should drop on Xi, and the Communist Chinese.
And that would be a twofer, as Rod D. Martin observed in a recent post to his must-read Substack, over the past decades, Beijing has purchased as much as 90 percent of Iran’s oil despite U.S. sanctions. Oil revenue has kept the Iranian economy afloat, with funds channeled to its military. It has also provided China with a steeply discounted energy source and a platform to conduct business in Chinese yuan, hence bypassing U.S. sanctions in the dollar system.
Cutting off funds to the Iranian military means restricting its revenue stream from its oil exports, thereby intensifying the economic pressure on the Islamic Republic.
So, our advice to President Trump is this: Forget about all the demands from the supply chain billionaires about trade deals and more accommodation with our Communist Chinese enemy. If you have to go to Communist China and meet with the architect of Red China’s unrestricted, all-domain warfare against America, go there to drop the hammer, not make a deal. Tell Xi the oil supply from Venezuela and the Islamic Republic of Iran is gone until we are satisfied Red China’s clandestine, but very real, war on America has been called off.
George Rasley is editor of Richard Viguerie's ConservativeHQ.com and is a veteran of over 300 political campaigns. A member of American MENSA, he served on the staff of Vice President Dan Quayle, as Director of Policy and Communication for former Congressman Adam Putnam (FL-12) then Vice Chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee's Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs, and as spokesman for retired Rep. Mac Thornberry formerly a member of the House Intelligence Committee and Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee.
