U.S. should lift Iran sanctions, including on China, says China

Vienna, (ST) – Wang Chun, China’s permanent representative to the United Nations and other international organizations in Vienna, called on the United States to lift all illegal sanctions against Iran and other parties, including China.

“With the resumption of the nuclear talks in Vienna, we hope that all parties concerned will seize the opportunity, adhere to the path of political and diplomatic solutions, fully demonstrate goodwill and flexibility, respect each other’s interests, create a good atmosphere and creatively resolve all outstanding issues through negotiations,” Xinhua quoted Wang as saying on Monday. “

 The current US position is that some sanctions can be lifted – a departure from former president Donald Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign. But Iran has insisted the US moves first and lifts all sanctions before any nuclear site inspections can resume.

While the sweeping lifting of sanctions by Washington is currently unlikely, a loosening of restrictions on China-Iran trade would open the door to increased co-operation between Beijing and Iran.

China is already Iran’s leading trade partner, exporting nearly $10 billion worth of goods to Iran each year, while Iran exports nearly $9bn worth of goods to Iran, mainly oil and related products.

But in recent years, two-way trade has been limited by concerns over US trade sanctions among some Chinese companies.

R. Sawas