President Trump’s administration is sanctioning a state-owned Chinese company for flouting sanctions on Iran’s oil industry.
“They violated US law by accepting crude oil,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Monday at the VFW National Convention. “We’ve said all along that any sanctions will indeed be enforced.”
Chinese ports have been stockpiling Iranian oil in storage tanks owned by Tehran without finalizing the sales, in an apparent effort to avoid triggering U.S. sanctions. Pompeo’s announcement targets Zhuhai Zhenrong Corp, the Beijing-based trading company most responsible for China’s relationship with Iran’s oil industry.
“We can’t tolerate more money going to the ayatollah, putting American soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines, putting their lives at risk,” Pompeo said. “It’s too important.”
The announcement is a positive signal for Iran hawks on Capitol Hill, following reports that the administration might allow China and Iran to sidestep sanctions by using oil as a form of payment in exchange for Chinese investment. Trump’s enforcement of sanctions on Iran has jolted the U.S. relationship with China over the last year, as moves to punish Chinese telecommunications giants ZTE and Huawei roiled trade negotiations.
The latest sanctions designation comes as the two sides are trying to jump-start talks following Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G-20 Summit in Japan.
The South China Morning Post reported trade representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will lead a team of U.S. negotiators in a likely visit to China next week for the first face-to-face talks since the June halt in the trade war.
