Auto Industry and Senate Democrat Both Press Trump on China Ahead of Xi's Sept. 24 White House Visit

President Trump gets a full plate of China questions before Chinese President Xi Jinping even lands in Washington next Thursday, September 24, for a summit and state dinner.

One fight is about cars. The other is about three dead American soldiers.

The Auto Industry Wants the Door Shut

Six trade groups representing nearly every major automaker operating in the U.S. sent Trump a letter dated Thursday, September 17, urging him to keep Chinese automakers out of the country entirely, according to CNBC, which viewed the letter. Signatories include the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, whose members include Ford, GM, Toyota and Volkswagen, along with Autos Drive America, the American Automotive Policy Council and the National Automobile Dealers Association, which represents roughly 17,000 franchised dealers, according to CNBC and ZeroHedge, both of which reported on the letter.

The letter argues the industry is "foundational to our advanced manufacturing and defense base" and that "once that base is hollowed out, it can't be rebuilt overnight," per the text obtained by CNBC. It asks Trump to "maintain policies that keep the door firmly shut to Chinese automakers seeking to sell, import or manufacture vehicles inside the U.S."

That last word, manufacture, is the sticking point. On September 11, Trump told Fox News' "The Ingraham Angle" he'd be open to Chinese automakers building plants on American soil: "If China wanted to come in and open a plant to build their cars here, I'd be OK with it."

The industry coalition disagrees. ZeroHedge quoted the letter warning that "allowing them to open a domestic facility would provide a foothold in the US market at the expense of manufacturers operating here." The letter also flags that Chinese automakers are heavily subsidized by Beijing and expanding aggressively into other markets.

There's a reasonable counterargument here, and it's Trump's own. Japanese and Korean automakers built U.S. plants decades ago under trade pressure, and those factories now employ tens of thousands of American autoworkers. If Chinese manufacturers built cars in Ohio or Michigan instead of Shenzhen, that's U.S. jobs and U.S. tax revenue, not Chinese imports undercutting Detroit. The industry coalition's counter is that BYD and its peers get government subsidies no American company gets, meaning a "level playing field" wouldn't actually be level.

The letter landed a day before auto stocks slid. Volkswagen shares fell as much as 7.5% Friday after the company cut its operating-margin forecast, citing a write-down on its Porsche stake and weak demand in China, according to ZeroHedge. GM shares dropped 5%, their steepest intraday decline since June, Ford fell 4% and Stellantis' U.S.-listed shares slid 5%, ZeroHedge reported, attributing the broader slide to "earnings pressure and trade-policy uncertainty." VW's own guidance cut, tied to its Porsche writedown and Chinese demand, is the specific cause the company itself gave for its stock's decline.

Slotkin Wants Answers on Dead Soldiers

The second fight predates the letter and cuts deeper. Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan sent Trump a letter Friday, September 18, obtained by CBS News, urging him to make Chinese satellite support for Iran "a centerpiece" of his talks with Xi.

The Wall Street Journal reported last week, citing U.S. officials, that Iran obtained high-resolution satellite imagery from Chinese sources both before and after the July 17 attack on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan. Iranian missiles and drones struck housing at the base, killing three American service members: Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, 19; 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan, 25; and Sgt. Angel S. Rampersad, 28. Four others were wounded, according to CBS News and Ynet.

U.S. officials described the finding to the Journal as the clearest evidence yet that Chinese support for Iran has had lethal consequences for American forces. Those same officials did not identify the specific Chinese entities involved in the Jordan attack and did not accuse the Chinese government of direct involvement, according to Ynet's reporting on the Journal's account. This is an intelligence assessment relayed by unnamed officials, not a criminal charge, sanction, or proven government-to-government transfer.

Beijing denies any role. China's Foreign Ministry has accused "certain parties" of trying to drag China into the conflict, and the Chinese Embassy in Washington did not respond to the Journal's request for comment, per Ynet. Senior U.S. officials raised the imagery directly with Chinese counterparts, and Beijing rejected the allegations and demanded evidence, the Journal reported.

In May, the Trump administration sanctioned three companies: Meentropy Technology, The Earth Eye and Chang Guang Satellite Technology, for providing imagery that "enables Iran's military strikes against U.S. forces in the Middle East," according to CBS News. Those sanctions were not specifically tied to the July 17 Jordan attack in the reporting reviewed here.

Slotkin's frustration centers on Trump's public response. Aboard Air Force One on September 13, asked whether he'd raise the issue with Xi, Trump said, "I think he's behaved reasonably well, and we behave reasonably well. You know, when they say that China spies on us, I say, 'you're right, and we spy on them too.'... They basically do what we do," according to CBS News and confirmed by MEAWW News' account of the same exchange. Times of India's coverage of those remarks framed it as Trump giving Xi a "clean chit," a characterization the underlying quotes support in tone if not in Trump's own words.

Slotkin called Trump's approach "rolling out the red carpet for our adversaries and kicking our allies in the teeth," per her letter obtained by CBS News.

What's Unresolved

Whether Trump raises either issue with Xi on September 24 is unclear. The White House has not detailed its agenda beyond describing expected discussion of trade, AI and conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza. Neither the auto industry's request nor Slotkin's letter carries any binding force. They are asks. Whether Xi's government further explains the satellite imagery, and whether Trump presses the point in person rather than deflecting it as he did aboard Air Force One, will determine how seriously those letters were taken.

Sources: CNBC, ZeroHedge, CBS News, Yahoo News, MEAWW News, NewsBeep, Ynet News, Times of India.