The growing alignment between China, Russia, and Iran raises new concerns about the trajectory of the conflict in the Middle East as questions mount over how far Beijing’s support could shape the outcome.
Gatestone Institute senior fellow Gordon Chang joined FOX Business’ Maria Bartiromo on “Mornings with Maria” to discuss how China’s expanding role alongside Iran is complicating U.S. strategy and shifting the balance on the ground.
Those concerns come as Iran seeks to bring both China and Russia into ceasefire discussions, while reports point to continued material and intelligence support flowing from Beijing to Tehran.
Chang warned that China’s involvement goes well beyond diplomacy, pointing to a pattern of support that he says spans weapons, technology, and intelligence.
“We just lost an AWACS plane in Saudi Arabia, and the Russians and the Chinese almost certainly supplied the information to Iran for targeting purposes. That was a grievous loss for us,” Chang said.
An E-3 Sentry, an airborne warning and control system aircraft known as AWACS, was among the planes hit during the missile and drone attack on Prince Sultan Air Base, U.S. and Arab officials told the outlet.
The strike, which Fox News confirmed wounded 12 American service members, also damaged multiple U.S. refueling aircraft.
He added that Beijing’s actions are part of a broader effort to challenge U.S. influence across multiple fronts, arguing that the current approach has failed to deter that behavior.
“There’s got to be some cost on China for continuing its support of Iran,” Chang said.
Chang also pointed to evidence of Chinese entities providing sensitive data and capabilities that could be used to track U.S. military assets, warning that failing to confront that support risks prolonging the conflict.
“China’s support for Iran is almost across the board… If we don’t recognize it…we could very well lose this conflict,” Chang said.
Fox News’ Jasmine Baehr contributed to this report
