China says its business and energy ties with Iran don’t harm other countries
Beijing defends commercial relations after Donald Trump said companies that do business with Iran will be barred from the US
China’s business and energy ties with Iran do not harm the interests of any other country, the country’s foreign ministry said, after US President Donald Trump said companies doing business with Iran would be barred from the United States.
China has already defended its commercial relations with Iran as open and transparent as US sanctions on Iran took effect despite pleas from Washington’s allies.
In a statement released late on Friday, China’s foreign ministry reiterated its opposition to unilateral sanctions and “long-armed jurisdiction”.
“For a long time, China and Iran have had open, transparent and normal commercial cooperation in the fields of business, trade and energy, which is reasonable, fair and lawful,” it said.
“This does not violate United Nations Security Council resolutions or China’s promised international obligations, nor does it harm the interests of any other country, and should be respected and protected,” the ministry added.
Using sanctions at the slightest pretext or to threaten anyone would not resolve the problem, it said.