China’s Iranian Oil Weapon

20 Aug, 2019

China continued importing Iranian oil in July for the second month since a US sanctions waiver ended, Reuters reported. Meanwhile, CNBC noted that Brent and WTI price could crash if China buys Iranian oil. 

Beijing could undermine Washington’s foreign policy stance by ignoring U.S. sanctions placed on Iran. Bank of America Merrill Lynch warns the oil price could slip sharply if China buys Iranian oil.

Currently the Trump administration puts Iran's oil exports at a range of 50-70 percent going to China, and with around 30 percent going to Syria. 

With the US and UK now aggressively choking the Tehran to Damascus trade, Tehran's economic survival is ever more dependent on selling to China - a country powerful enough to bust US sanctions. 

In his statement delivered during the Chinese diplomatic delegation visit to Tehran Iran's Vice President Jahangiri made a direct appeal to Beijing and "friendly" countries to up their Iranian crude purchases. 

According to some experts Beijing could unleash severe oil volatility on global markets if it decides to follow Jahangiri’s appeal in response to Trump's threats of a 10% tariff on $300 billion of Chinese goods.

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