BEIJING, April 14 -- China vowed Tuesday it would impose "countermeasures" if US President Donald Trump made good on his threat to impose new tariffs following reports Beijing has supplied or intends to supply weapons to Iran.

Trump - who is scheduled to visit Beijing next month for talks with counterpart Xi Jinping - said Sunday he would hit China's goods with a 50 per cent tariff if it provided military assistance to Tehran.

His comments came the same day US outlet CNN reported that US intelligence indicated China was preparing to deliver new air defence systems to Iran within the next few weeks, citing three people familiar with the assessments.

Over the weekend, The New York Times quoted US officials as saying US intelligence sugge...