US Mnuchin: "China Will Face Sanctions If It Buys Iranian Oil"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Steve Mnuchin, the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, stated that he is consulting with Chinese officials to block China's import of Iranian oil as part of additional sanctions against Iran. The U.S. has warned that if China continues oil transactions with Iran, China will also become a target of sanctions. Despite sanctions from the U.S. and the West, China continues to trade oil and weapons with Iran, and is known as a major export route for Iranian oil.

On the 12th (local time), Secretary Mnuchin said in an interview with Fox News, "Iranian oil exports have decreased by more than 95% due to sanctions on Iran, but a significant amount of trade with China is still ongoing," adding, "Together with the Chinese delegation, we will prevent all Chinese state-owned enterprises from purchasing Iranian oil." He continued, "If China continues oil transactions with Iran, China will be subject to sanctions just like all other countries," warning, "We have actually started sanctioning some shipping companies, and if China or any other country in the world continues transactions, we will continue sanction activities."

The reason Secretary Mnuchin mentioned China is interpreted as due to China continuing oil and weapons trade with Iran despite Western sanctions. According to Hong Kong's South China Morning Post (SCMP), China's Ministry of Commerce announced that the trade volume with Iran in 2018 reached $35.13 billion (approximately 40.5856 trillion KRW), of which the trade volume of Iranian crude oil was $15 billion (approximately 17.3295 trillion KRW). The two countries are also known to be actively promoting weapons trade. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, China exported weapons worth about $269 million (approximately 310.7 billion KRW) to Iran from 2008 to 2018.

Meanwhile, earlier, the U.S. Treasury Department announced on the 10th (local time), following Iran's airstrike on U.S. military bases in Iraq, that it would impose additional sanctions on Iran. The sanctions targets have been expanded to include manufacturing, mining, and textile sectors in Iran's oil industry.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.