China has told Iran that it will not comply with the Trump administration's economic sanctions on the country, a Japanese news outlet reported on the 26th.
A senior Iranian government official told Kyodo News that Tehran had been informed of Beijing's decision not to follow the sanctions Washington imposed to intensify economic pressure on Iran. According to the official, China conveyed that position during talks between Chinese and Iranian officials this month. The official said Beijing's stance remained unchanged even after the U.S.-China summit held in Washington on the 24th, adding that "the U.S. policy of pressuring Iran has failed."
Late last month, the United States announced Operation Economic Outcast, which extends sanctions to other countries that trade in certain goods with Iran. Washington also designated organizations, individuals and vessels around the world that help the Iranian government generate oil revenue as new sanctions targets. China is the largest buyer of Iranian crude, purchasing more than 80% of it.
Kyodo News said China's refusal to comply could deal a blow to the United States, given that Beijing's cooperation could determine whether the tougher sanctions succeed or fail.
David Perdue, the U.S. ambassador to China, said on CNBC on the 25th that President Donald Trump had made clear during his summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping that Chinese support for Iran was unacceptable.
Perdue said Washington had told Beijing weeks earlier that no support for Iran would be tolerated, whether direct or indirect, and whether in the form of intelligence, components or military equipment, and that Trump had underscored the same point again the previous day. He said the main significance of this week's summit lay in communication between the two countries rather than in any specific list of negotiating items.
Perdue said it would be irresponsible not to communicate with the Chinese side, noting that Xi's visit was the first by a Chinese president to Washington in more than a decade.
