News - Middle East: Beijing has censured the US blacklisting of an alleged network of companies brokering the sale of Iranian oil products and petrochemicals, stating that it strongly opposes Washington’s “illegal” and “unjustifiable” sanctions as well as its so-called maximum pressure campaign against Iran

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian urged the US to abandon the “wrong practice of resorting to sanctions at every turn” and instead “contribute positively” to negotiations on resuming compliance with the JCPOA, commonly known as the 2015 Iran deal.

“China has always been firmly opposed to illegal, unjustifiable, and unilateral sanctions and so-called long-arm jurisdiction by the US,” Zhao told a press conference in Beijing on Thursday.

He added, “The international community, including China, has conducted normal cooperation with Iran within the framework of international law. This is reasonable and lawful without harm done to any third party and deserves to be respected and protected.”

The remarks came a day after the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on a purported network of companies, including Chinese and Emirati ones, which it accused of helping to deliver and sell Iranian petroleum and petrochemical products to East Asia.