China said on Tuesday that it intends to protect its interests following US President, Donald Trump’s announcement that the U.S. would target Iran’s trading partners with tariffs.
“There are no winners in a trade war,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said in Beijing.
She said that China would resolutely defend its legitimate rights and interest.
Trump had announced that from now on, U.S. tariffs of 25per cent would apply to all countries doing business with Iran.
Iran is an important trading partner of Beijing for oil.
The People’s Republic China does not produce enough oil for its needs and relies heavily on imports.
Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping had agreed on a pause in the tariff dispute between the world’s two largest economies during a meeting in South Korea in October.
Cui Shoujun, a Professor of International Relations at Beijing’s Renmin University, said that China would not reduce its economic cooperation with Iran due to Trump’s announcement.
He said that China and Iran had maintained trading ties for some time, adding that Iran is one of the 10 most important countries from which China imports oil.
Earlier, President Donald Trump had threatened that the US will impose a tariff rate of 25 per cent on any country doing trade with Iran.
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Trump’s threat is coming as Washington weighs a response to the situation in Iran, which is seeing its biggest anti-government protests in years.
“Effective immediately, any country doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran, will pay a tariff of 25 per cent on any and all business being done with the United States of America,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
Tariffs are paid by U.S. importers of goods from those countries.
Iran, a member of the OPEC oil producing group, has been heavily sanctioned by Washington for years.
It exports much of its oil to China, with Turkey, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, and India among its other top trading partners.
“This order is final and conclusive,” Trump said without providing any further detail.
There was no official documentation from the White House of the policy on its website, nor information about the legal authority Trump would use to impose the tariffs, or whether they would be aimed at all of Iran’s trading partners.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
The Chinese embassy in Washington criticised Trump’s approach, saying China will take “all necessary measures” to safeguard its interests and opposed “any illicit unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction.”
NAN
