According to Reuters, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying made the comment at a news briefing, after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States had sanctioned Chinese energy company Zhuhai Zhenrong Co. Ltd because it “knowingly engaged in a significant transaction for the purchase or acquisition of crude oil from Iran”.
Pompeo said in a foreign policy speech in Florida that the company, Zhuhai Zhenrong, and its chief executive, Li Youmin, were “violating US restrictions on Iran’s oil sector.”
The move comes amid increased tensions between Iran and the West - as well as frosty relations between the US and China, though they have restarted major trade talks.
ZZ/PR