Beijing: China on Tuesday strongly protested against a threat by the US to impose sanctions on countries that continue buying Iranian oil after Washington decided not to reissue waivers for oil imports from the Middle Eastern country. Beijing urges Washington to respect its interests and concerns as well as “refrain from actions that are detrimental to Chinese rights and to global continued efforts to protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises”, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said during a press briefing.
“The international community, including China, engages in normal energy cooperation with Iran under the framework of international law, that is legitimate and reasonable and should be respected and protected,” Geng was quoted as saying by Efe news. He said that China had lodged a formal complaint with the US for what it described as “wrongful actions” and accused Washington of increasing “turbulences” in the Middle East and the global energy market, for which Iranian crude oil exports were “of great significance”. “We urge the US to take responsible and constructive attitudes instead of the contrary,” Geng added. The Chinese spokesperson said that his country’s reaction to the decision of the Donald Trump-led administration was “the common position of the vast majority of the international community”.