Dispute over Iran
China threatens the USA
Updated August 25, 2026 – 4:37 p.mReading time: 3 minutes
Washington is increasing its economic pressure on Iran and is also targeting Chinese companies. Beijing announces resistance.
China has warned the US against expanding its sanctions on Iran. Beijing Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said on Tuesday in Beijing that he would do “everything necessary” to protect his rights and interests.
The statement was a response to the US President’s administration’s new sanctions campaign Donald Trump. The US Treasury Department alone imposed sanctions on almost 60 organizations, people and ships. This includes companies and business people Hong Kong and mainland China.
USA expands sanctions threat
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent presented the measures on Monday under the name “Operation Economic Outcast”. The aim is to strengthen the economic connections of the Iran to cut off abroad. Washington accuses those affected of supporting Tehran in circumventing existing sanctions and in procuring nuclear and rocket technology.
At the same time they expanded USA the range of possible targets of secondary sanctions. Foreign individuals and companies that operate or provide corresponding services in the Iranian economic sectors of technology, digital assets, gold, aviation or shipping can now also be sanctioned.
The US government wants to set deadlines for affected states within which they should stop doing business that Washington objects to. Companies and financial institutions that help Iran launder money or evade sanctions face exclusion from the US financial system. “Anyone who ties themselves to Tehran should expect to share the isolation of a moribund regime,” explained Bessent. He left it open which companies Washington might target next.
China’s oil trade is coming into focus
China is by far Iran’s most important oil buyer. According to the Financial Times, China buys around 90 percent of Iran’s export oil. The US had already imposed sanctions on some of these refineries. According to the newspaper, Beijing ordered Chinese companies not to comply with these sanctions.
The new US package covers several companies from Hong Kong and mainland China. Large Chinese banks were initially spared. If Washington were to sanction them too, the dispute could escalate significantly. The measures are already met with dissatisfaction.
China rejects “illegal unilateral sanctions” without any basis in international law or UN Security Council mandate, said Foreign Office spokesman Lin. “Economic war and maximum pressure offer no solution.” Such measures increased tensions and endangered the international economic and financial order.
