On May 2, Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, condemned the latest US sanctions on a Chinese port-operating company accused of importing crude oil from Iran.
Speaking to TASS, Liu stated: “China opposes unilateral sanctions and extraterritorial jurisdiction that have no basis in international law. Normal economic and trade cooperation between Chinese companies and other countries should not be interfered with or undermined.”
He urged Washington to “stop abusing sanctions” and reaffirmed that China “will resolutely protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies.”
Earlier the same day, the US State Department announced sanctions on Qingdao Haiye Oil Terminal Co., Ltd. and its chairman. According to the State Department, the company had “imported tens of millions of barrels of crude oil from sanctioned Iran,” reportedly generating “billions of dollars” for Tehran.
