Rep. John Moolenaar (R-MI), who represents Michigan’s 2nd District, is also chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. That role allows the lawmaker to keep an eye on the CCP, which is why he told “Washington Watch” on Monday nobody should believe China’s diplomatic overtures to the United States.
“For them to say that they're simply sort of a neutral bystander, a peace-loving country, we wouldn't have a lot of these conflicts if it wasn't for China propping up these regimes,” he told show host Tony Perkins.
Back in 2021, China and Iran signed a 25-year "Comprehensive Strategic Partnership." That diplomatic deal included discounted oil for China and China's promise of $400 billion investment in Iran for oil and gas, ports, railways, and technology.
The deal also included a military partnership, including importing Chinese-made drone components and rocket fuel for missiles, as well as joint military exercises.
On the issue of Taiwan, in particular China’s stated plan to eventually attack and capture the island nation, Moolenaar said China may be reconsidering that plan after it witnessed President Trump’s leadership in Venezuela and now in Iran.
“I have to say they have to be very impressed with President Trump's leadership and the military capabilities that we've seen,” he shared.
After the CCP has watched previous U.S. presidents wrestle with Iran, China has watched a president “willing to act,” the lawmaker added.
Asked about China and Iran, national security expert Robert Maginnis told AFN there is no doubt China is studying Epic Fury in detail.
“From Beijing’s perspective, this conflict is not just about Iran,” Maginnis advised. “It is a real-world case study of how the United States fights a modern, high-intensity campaign under contested conditions.”
From the strain on logistics for fuel and munitions to unconventional warfare with drones, Maginnis said, the People’s Liberation Army is studying every aspect of the Pentagon’s military campaign looking for weaknesses.
Going back to the first days and weeks of Epic Fury, which began February 28, Maginnis said China can’t ignore the military firepower that dominated the airspace and struck critical targets with precision strikes.
“That reinforces a longstanding Chinese assessment: In the early stages of a conflict, the U.S. military remains highly capable and technologically superior,” Maginnis, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel, told AFN.
The bigger lesson China has learned, which is more critical, Maginnis warned, is Iran was able to withstand those military strikes because its government is still intact.
“The United States can dominate the early phases of a conflict. It can impose significant damage and maintain military superiority,” Maginnis said. “But converting that into a decisive political outcome is far more difficult.”
Back on “Washington Watch,” Rep. Moolenaar said the military attack and current blockade has disrupted China’s oil imports from Iran that make up 90% of China’s oil imports.
China has a lot of oil reserves, the Congressman said, but its shadowy and illegal oil imports from Iran have been severely curtailed thanks to President Trump’s actions.
“I don't see them coming out as a winner on this,” he predicted, “but they certainly would like to see the Strait open back up and have unfettered access to the oil, the illicit oil, that they have through Iran.”
