U.S. Representative Rob Wittman stated that by becoming more interdependent with the Chinese economy, U.S. funds are supporting terrorism because the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) sends money to Iran. He shared his statement on the social media platform X on May 31.

"Billions of U.S. dollars are benefitting companies controlled by the Chinese Communist Party," said Wittman. "China is sending this money to the largest sponsor of terrorism: Iran. @SecYellen must investigate these companies now."

According to a press release from the Select Committee on the CCP, Chairman John Moolenaar and other committee members are calling upon the Office of Foreign Assets Control and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network to investigate six companies in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) that support Iran’s military and energy industries. An April report released by the committee found that $6.5 billion of U.S. investment into PRC companies were deemed security risks in 2023, with many of these companies identified as strategically tied to Iran’s military or energy industry.

Select committee members, led by Moolenaar, wrote a letter urging the Treasury Department to investigate security risks in U.S. investments into PRC-owned companies. The lawmakers said the Treasury must impose "sanctions on persons determined to be part of the energy sector of Iran, or to sell, supply, or transfer to or from Iran significant goods or services used in connection with the energy sector of Iran."

According to Foreign Policy (FP), economic bilateral relations between China and Iran are uneven, with Iran being more dependent on China due to their large amount of exports into China. Over 90% of Iranian crude exports were sent to China, while China has diversified its suppliers, with Iranian imports accounting for only 10% of total Chinese imports. Despite this leverage, China struggles to utilize it due to private refineries illegally purchasing a majority of Iranian oil rather than state-bought oil sales.

Wittman has served as a representative of Virginia’s first congressional district since 2007. In office, he has focused on military and veterans' issues, pro-growth economic policy, infrastructure repair, internet access improvement, and workforce development through Career and Technical Education (CTE) and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). He is part of the Armed Services Committee and House Committee on Natural Resources and is co-chair of the House Rural Broadband Caucus.