The Trump administration on Monday pressed China to curb its oil trade with Iran and use its influence to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, escalating a sanctions dispute ahead of President Trump's talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping scheduled for Beijing this month. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said China's heavy purchases of Iranian crude effectively bankroll terrorism, citing the US designation of Iran as a state sponsor of terrorism, the New York Times reports. "China has been buying 90% of their energy, so they are funding the largest state sponsor of terrorism," Bessent said on Fox News.
He also called on Beijing to "step up with some diplomacy and get the Iranians to open the strait." The Treasury Department has recently tightened enforcement on Chinese entities involved in Iran's oil trade, focusing on smaller "teapot" refineries and warning banks and intermediaries they could face penalties for facilitating those transactions. On April 24, Treasury sanctioned Hengli Petrochemical Refinery, an independent Chinese refiner described as one of Iran's top customers, alleging it has bought billions of dollars in crude and other products from Iran's Revolutionary Guards. Over the weekend, China's Ministry of Commerce ordered companies not to comply with US sanctions against five independent refiners, including Hengli, per Reuters. That could lead to a fresh clash over the reach of US sanctions and raise the risk of further separation between the countries' financial systems.
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