Global Geopolitical Series: China to defy U.S. sanctions in boosting trade with Iran

After exiting from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA), better known as the Iran nuclear agreement, the U.S. administration has swiftly moved into re-imposing sanctions on Iran beginning in August. The very first tranche of the sanctions that went into effect in August targets Iran’s access to the global financial market by curbing its access to the USD and the rest of the sanctions, which would go live by November this year would specifically target Iran’s oil imports and banking systems.

However, China which remains a partner to the Iran nuclear agreement despite U.S. exit is likely to defy U.S. sanctions and continue to boost its trade ties with Iran. The statistics also suggest that same.  In the first half of 2018, China-Iran trade turnover reached $19.66 billion, which is a 2.2 percent increase over the same period last year. China’s imports from Iran grew by 22.7 percent to $11.26 billion, while its exports declined by 4.8 percent to $8.4 billion.

The commentary from China’s foreign ministry also stressed the point. China's Assistant Foreign Minister Zhang Jun said that Iran would play a pivotal road in China’s development of the 3200km long new ‘Silk Road’ that goes all the way to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Urumqi in China.