China consistently opposes unilateral US sanctions against Iran, Reuters quoted the Chinese foreign ministry as saying on Monday amid reports that Washington is expected to announce that buyers of Iranian oil must halt imports soon or face sanctions.
"China has always opposed the US imposition of so-called 'unilateral sanctions' and 'long-arm jurisdiction'," Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a daily news briefing in Beijing on Monday.
He said China’s bilateral cooperation with Iran was in accordance with the law, "reasonable and legitimate, which thus deserves respect."
China is a major importer of Iranian oil and was one of eight buyers who were granted a waiver by the United States to continue buying Iranian oil.
Last November, the US enforced sanctions targeting the Islamic Republic’s banking and energy sector after Donald Trump pulled the US out of the 2015 nuclear deal. However, it granted waivers to eight major importers of the Iranian oil, including China, India, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, Italy and Greece.
US officials have said the Trump administration is expected to terminate the sanctions waivers which were meant to last for six months.
MNA/PR