The Trump administration this week issued new sanctions against several Chinese entities involved in the purchase and import of sanctioned Iranian oil.
Beijing’s support of Tehran—both economically and politically—has continued to grow for nearly three decades. This support has often extended to sanctioned Iranian industries, although the precise mechanisms of China’s support remain somewhat opaque.
The United States has sought to choke off Iran’s sales of oil in recent years due to Tehran’s funding of international terrorism. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which rules China as a single-party state, has nevertheless succeeded in maintaining its position as the world’s largest importer of Iranian oil and has largely avoided major blowback by the United States….