Just before Chinese President Hu Jintao's arrival in Washington, two leading senators accused China of violating sanctions against Iran and warned President Obama that Congress will go after Chinese companies if the abuses don't stop, The Washington Post reports.

"We appreciate China's decision to support U.N. Security Council Resolution 1929, as well as China's backing of prior U.N. sanctions against Iran. However, we believe that China's record on sanctions enforcement and nonproliferation is inadequate and disappointing," Sens. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) wrote on Jan. 14 in a previously unreported letter.

The senators cited numerous reports that China is supplying crucial materials to aid Iran's nuclear and missile programs and alleged that Beijing continues to give monetary and material support to Iran's energy sectors, including the delivery of refined petroleum products, which could provoke penalties under U.S. law.

The senators named the state-owned China National Petroleum Corp. and the China Petroleum and Chemical Corp. as firms that could face U.S. penalties.

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