China urges US to ‘immediately halt’ sanctions on Chinese firms with Iran ties

China on Monday called for the US to “immediately halt” sanctions on Chinese companies for maintaining business ties with Iran amid heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran.

The administration of US President Donald Trump on Friday imposed new sanctions on Iran following attacks on US and allied troops in Iraq earlier in the week. The latest round of sanctions is set to hit much of Iran’s economy as well as Chinese companies that have conducted business with Iran.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang on Monday said Beijing opposed what it saw as unilateral sanctions and called for Washington to stop punishing Chinese companies through those sanctions.

“We think that sanctions or threats of sanctions will not solve the issues at hand,” Geng said during a regular press briefing in Beijing.

Geng’s remarks came after US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin told Fox News on Sunday that “China is subject to sanctions just like everybody else”.

“We actually sanctioned some of their shipping companies that were involved in the oil, and we will continue to pursue sanctions activities against China and anybody else around the world that continues to do business with them,” Mnuchin said during the interview.

But on Monday, Geng said China’s trade with Iran was legitimate and should be “respected”.

“The friendly cooperation between China and Iran has long been within the framework of international law. Such cooperation has been legitimate and law-abiding, it doesn’t harm the interests of third parties, and should be respected and protected,” Geng said.

“The Chinese side urges the US side to immediately halt the wrongful action of sanctioning Chinese companies. We will resolutely protect the legitimate interests of the Chinese companies.”

China has long been Iran’s largest trading partner and the Islamic Republic is one of its major suppliers of oil. But the relationship has come under greater scrutiny since the United States withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal in May 2018 and reimposed sanctions on Iran as ties between the two countries rapidly deteriorated.

China has limited its economic engagement with Iran, even as it said it would try to salvage the 2015 deal – formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action – after the US pulled out. Iran last week said it would no longer abide by uranium enrichment restrictions it agreed to in return for the lifting of sanctions under the nuclear pact.

China and Iran: a relationship built on trade, weapons and oil

Beijing has continued to call for restraint from all sides after tensions dramatically escalated following the killing of Major General Qassem Soleimani, Iran’s top military leader, in a US drone strike in Iraq on January 3. Tehran retaliated with missile attacks on two airbases housing US troops in Iraq last Tuesday.