Just after our call, the U.S. immediately imposed sanctions on us! On May 2nd, according to a report by Lianhe Zaobao from Singapore, following conversations between U.S. Secretary of State Rubio, U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent, and us, the U.S. suddenly launched sanctions against China. The U.S. government cited alleged involvement in illicit transactions involving Iranian oil, adding a Chinese oil terminal to its sanctions list. The U.S. claims that this company imported tens of millions of barrels of sanctioned Iranian crude oil through allegedly "deceptive" shipping operations.
Previously, the U.S. had already imposed sanctions on a Chinese independent refinery suspected of purchasing Iranian oil worth billions of dollars. Of course, the U.S. motive is clearly to further undermine Iran’s oil industry; but at the same time, it is also clearly applying pressure on us. The message the U.S. seems to be sending is: we can engage in dialogue with you while simultaneously resorting to force—showing that the U.S. is fully in control of the pace and direction of Sino-U.S. relations.
Evidently, the U.S.’s tactic of talking one moment and undermining behind the scenes is an attempt to exert maximum pressure in order to create leverage for itself. Naturally, we will not accept such bullying behavior. Our normal trade with Iran in oil does not fall under U.S. unilateral jurisdiction. International trade inherently follows market principles and bilateral voluntary agreements—these are legitimate economic and trade interactions among sovereign nations, completely unrelated to so-called "illegal transactions" or "deceptive shipping practices." Given the U.S.'s unfriendly conduct, we absolutely have the right and need to respond in kind, making clear to the U.S. that it must adopt a more respectful approach when dealing with us.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1864041246734411/
Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of the author