China Maintains Trade with Iran Despite US Sanctions Threats
2 sources across 2 countries · Hong Kong · Qatar · 1 of them is linked to a state
Who reported this
- South China Morning Post
- Al Jazeera
What the colours mean
- Left
- Centre-left
- Centre
- Centre-right
- Right
- A hatched block means the outlet is affiliated with, or controlled by, a state.
Political lean describes where an outlet sits within the politics of its own country. It is never a position on a single global scale.
Political lean is comparable inside one country and not across them, which is why the bar groups by country first. Publicly funded broadcasters are not marked as state-linked.
The owner of each outlet is listed as a matter of record, not as a judgement about the outlet.
China continues to support Iran's economy by purchasing 90 percent of its oil exports despite recent US sanctions. At a Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Bishkek, leaders from China, Russia, and India called for a new development bank to maintain independence from financial systems that weaponize economic tools. China utilizes a network of dark fleets and teapot refineries to obfuscate the origin of Iranian cargo and avoid US sanctions.
China's ability to resist US pressure is attributed to its use of renminbi or barter transactions, which insulate its banks from US extraterritorial jurisdiction. Some Chinese companies also use shell companies to hide dollar transactions. While the US has threatened secondary sanctions, China has developed a high tolerance for economic pain following previous trade wars.
Outlets with a center left lean frame the situation as a strategic geopolitical move, arguing that China views the US sanctions as toothless and fears that an Iranian defeat would push the Middle East back into the US orbit. Conversely, outlets with a center right lean frame the conflict as a game of economic chicken, suggesting that US financial fragility and debt make its threats less credible than China's resilient economy.
How each side framed it
- Centre-left
- Framed the issue as a strategic geopolitical calculation to maintain regional influence and energy security.
- Centre-right
- Framed the issue as a comparison of economic resilience, arguing that US financial instability makes its sanctions threats non credible.
Sources
100% of the statements in this article were traced back to the source articles listed above.