China cannot stop buying Iranian oil

Edited and translated by People's Daily Online

It is said that the United States wants China to cooperate with it through stopping buying oil from Iran, so as to tighten sanctions against Iran. However, China has no reason to blindly follow the economic sanctions against Iran initiated by the United States, no matter which side is considered. Particularly, it is impossible for China to stop buying Iranian oil.

Firstly, the economic sanctions against Iran are launched by the United States but not the U.N. The U.S. does not mean the international community. China is an independent and sovereign state and shall not follow the U.S.'s pace blindly. All economic and trade exchanges between China and Iran are legal transactions based on the international norms and have no violations of the law.

Secondly, China's foreign policies focus on pursuing peace and development, hope to maintain world peace and create a good environment for the economic development of China and the world. The tightening of economic sanctions against Iran can only exacerbate the already tense situation in the Gulf region, promote a sharp increase in the risk of war and add uncertainty to the world economy shrouded in shadow of the U.S. and European sovereign debt crisis and the emerging market economy risks. As a large and responsible country in the international community, China shall not and cannot take this dangerous decision.

The United States, a country that has used the most economic sanctions in the world since the 20th century, needs to deeply reflect upon whether it has abused the measure of economic sanctions excessively. 77 among the 116 international economic sanctions launched from 1914 to 1990 were led by the U.S.; and in the 80 or more sanction cases from the end of the Cold War to 2007, the U.S. had participated in more than 60 of them, involving more than half of the world's population.