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China rejects sanctions pressure
China warned that sanctions and pressure tactics do not resolve disputes, with Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian telling reporters in Beijing that “sanctions and pressure tactics “lead to escalation,” stressing that “escalation serves no one’s interests.”
“sanctions and pressure tactics “lead to escalation,” stressing that “escalation serves no one’s interests.””
Lin said China “will closely watch relevant developments and do what is necessary to protect our legitimate rights and interests,” as the Trump administration prepares a package of economic penalties targeting Iran and its trading partners.
The Anadolu Ajansı report framed the remarks as a response to U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s warnings to third-party countries, urging international buyers, particularly China, the world’s largest importer of Iranian crude, to halt purchases or risk severe secondary sanctions and financial penalties.
In parallel, the AP reported that Bessent announced a new round of sanctions aimed at Iran and warned every country that does business with the Islamic Republic to sever those financial ties or face retaliation from the United States.
The AP also quoted Bessent saying, “Why would I want to blow up the global financial system?” as Washington sought an off-ramp nearly six months into an unpopular war with an increasingly obstinate Iran.
Secondary sanctions and China
The BBC reported that Iran said it was “fully prepared” to counter widened U.S. economic sanctions, while China said it was firmly opposed to what it called “illegal unilateral sanctions” and said economic pressure tactics would not help resolve problems.
In the BBC account, Foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jiang said, “economic pressure tactics would not help resolve problems, and Beijing would safeguard its own interests,” as Washington described the campaign as an “economic D-Day” to isolate Iran from the global economy.
The AP said Bessent warned that “no one is above the reach of U.S. sanctions,” adding that if countries facilitate transactions and are part of the ecosystem that turns Iranian oil into money, into repression, they will be targeted.
The AP also reported that the Treasury Department imposed sanctions on nearly 60 Iran-linked entities, including Hong Kong-based Sweet Ocean Industrial Limited and China-based Shenzhen Huamei, described as a service provider for the Iran-based logistics company BRE Line.
In the same AP reporting, Bessent said the UAE decision to suspend all trade, commercial exchanges and financial transactions with Iran was “not a coincidence,” while Iran’s parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf posted on X that Iran’s trading partners “don’t take these statements into account anywhere.”
What’s at stake for China
As the U.S. sanctions campaign expands, multiple outlets tied the pressure on Iran’s trade lifelines to China’s role as the biggest buyer of Iranian oil, with the BBC noting China as “the biggest buyer of Iranian oil” that had ignored previous U.S. sanctions and continued to do business with Tehran.
“These include China, the biggest buyer of Iranian oil, which has ignored previous US sanctions”
The AP reported that China, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates are Iran’s largest trade partners, and it said Bessent told reporters that the U.S. was “level-setting with every country” about expectations before the “hammer of U.S. Treasury actions” falls.
The Global Times quoted Lin Jian saying China will take “all necessary measures to firmly safeguard its own rights and interests,” while arguing that sanctions and pressure tactics “do no help in resolving issues” and “They will only lead to escalation that serves no one's interest.”
The El País account said the U.S. sanctions package reached “individuals and companiesfrom mainland China and Hong Kong,” and it described Beijing’s response as rejection of unilateral sanctions “lacking basis in international law” or “not authorized by the United Nations Security Council.”
El País also reported that the sanctions were presented during an “economic D-Day against Iran” and that the first package came “barely a month before the expected meeting between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping in Washington,” with Xi scheduled to travel on September 24.