China made it clear on Wednesday that it will uphold its business standing with Iran despite the sanctions placed on the Islamic Republic by the White House, in light of its recent cancellation from the 2015 Nuclear Weapons Deal.
Meanwhile, Beijing's blatant rejection of Washington's demands could further fire up the already heated trade conflict fought between the two economic powerhouses.
In a statement released by the Chinese Foreign Ministry, and as cited over at Reuters, indicates Beijing's determination to maintain its burgeoning business ties with Tehran. After all, as further explained by the Ministry, the dealings between the two countries comply with the current sanctions imposed by the United Nations on Iran.
Thus, China will render Donald Trump's renewed sanction policies on Tehran as irrelevant.
"China's commercial cooperation with Iran is open and transparent, reasonable and fair, not violating any United Nations Security Council resolutions," the Ministry's official press release reads.
The office further emphasized that China's decision to honor its deal with Iran is in accordance to its lawful rights which should be protected at all times.
China alone accounts for almost 40 percent of the total Iranian oil export. This makes the Asian giant as Iran's primary consumer of its crude, a previous report said.
As further added by CNBC, Tehran earns around USD$15 billion annually from its oil trade with Beijing. Not only that, Chinese state firms like China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and Sinopec have some huge investments in Iran and its vast oil fields.
China, however, clarified that it won't be increasing the volume of its purchase just as yet.
Aside from Beijing, regional allies such as Russia and India will continue to procure its supply of crude from Iran despite the impending difficulties the US sanctions may bring, a report from the Wall Street Journal reads.
Just this week, Turkey, in the person of Energy Minister Berat Albayrak, confirmed that it won't take heed on Trump's call not to buy gas from Iran.
Background Incident
On May, President Trump backed out from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action - a pact that sees the delimitation on Iran's nuclear activity in the Persian Gulf. The Islamic state, meanwhile, enjoys the full cancellation of the economic ban previously imposed by the US and the United Nations.
However, intelligence reports reached the Oval Office hinting on Iran's alleged violation of the agreement. This consequently prompted the US to reinforce the economic sanctions which would come in two waves - the first already taking effect this week while the second on November.
