China pushed back sharply on Monday against US sanctions targeting Hengli Petrochemical's refinery in Dalian, calling the measures "illicit" and vowing to defend its companies.
The statement came a day after Washington designated the facility as one of Iran's largest oil customers and sanctioned nearly 40 additional shipping entities tied to Iran's shadow fleet.
"China always opposes unilateral sanctions that have no basis in international law," China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters in Beijing.
"China urges the US to abandon the wrong practice of abusive sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction." He added that China "will firmly safeguard the lawful rights and interests of Chinese companies."
The US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced the action on Friday as part of its "Economic Fury" campaign, which it described as a financial stranglehold on Tehran.
Hengli Petrochemical's facility in Dalian has a processing capacity of roughly 400,000 barrels of crude oil per day, making it one of the biggest independent refineries in China.
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US accused that Hengli has received Iranian crude oil shipments since 2023 and generated hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for the Iranian military.
The action escalated a pressure campaign that has already claimed several Chinese refiners. Last year, the Trump administration imposed sanctions on Hebei Xinhai Chemical Group, Shandong Shouguang Luqing Petrochemical, and Shandong Shengxing Chemical — creating difficulties receiving crude and forcing refiners to sell products under different names.
China purchased more than 80% of Iran's shipped oil last year, according to analytics firm Kpler, with the crude typically routed through shadow fleet vessels with its origin disguised as oil from countries such as Malaysia.
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The US State Department's Tommy Pigott said the measures were part of broader efforts to curb what Washington describes as Iran's illicit oil trade — a characterisation Beijing has consistently rejected.
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