Overview
- China’s Ministry of Commerce, which issued a blocking order Saturday, told domestic companies not to follow U.S. sanctions on Hengli Petrochemical and four smaller Shandong refineries.
- U.S. Treasury’s OFAC had placed Hengli, Shandong Jincheng, Hebei Xinhai, Shandong Shengxing, and Shandong Shouguang Luqing on its SDN list for buying Iranian crude and warned global banks about secondary‑sanctions risk.
- The Chinese blocking law forbids compliance with foreign measures Beijing deems unlawful and lets firms seek waivers, leaving counterparties uncertain about which legal regime to obey.
- Hengli denied trading with Iran, and Chinese state media defended the order as a response to what it calls U.S. long‑arm jurisdiction over trade by third countries.
- The confrontation lands less than two weeks before President Donald Trump’s visit to Beijing and touches a key energy link, with Kpler estimating Iran supplies about 13% of China’s oil and China buys most of Iran’s exports.