Israel’s campaign to eliminate Iran’s nuclear program is emerging as another faultline in US-China ties, with Donald Trump and Xi Jinping picking opposite sides.

The Chinese leader said yesterday he was “deeply worried” about the unravelling security situation in the Middle East, after his officials condemned Israel’s attack as a “violation of international law.” Xi also offered to play a role in any peace process, but was vague on specifics.

In stark contrast, hours later Trump issued a veiled death threat against Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, declaring he wasn’t going to kill him — “for now” — and demanding Iran’s total surrender.

China’s siding with the Islamic Republic shouldn’t come as a surprise. Just as Washington has long backed Israel, Beijing has been moving closer to Iran, inking a $400 billion investment pact in 2021, then not long after brokering a diplomatic détente between Tehran and Saudi Arabia.

That friendship, however, has mostly been in service of opposing the US. Case in point: China takes some 90% of Iran’s oil exports — an affront to the White House’s sanctions regime that Beijing staunchly opposes.

Xi has also thrown political capital behind Iran. In 2023, Beijing welcomed Tehran into the Shanghai Cooperation Organization security group, and followed up by ushering it into the ever-expanding BRICS.

None of that means he’ll rush to Iran’s rescue. China, after all, is a nation with no formal allies. Even Xi’s support for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine is limited to assistance that won’t trigger any major economic backlash from Western democracies.

So, while Xi’s calls for peace might appear the more grown-up response, Beijing’s friends will likely hear another message: When the missiles are flying, China is still all talk, no action.