TEHRAN (Iran News) – The trade of Tehran with its top trading partner, Beijing, has gone over $5 billion in the starting four months of 2020.
According to a report by menafn.com, Tehran and Beijing trade during four months from the start of 2020 hit a total of $5.2 billion, representing a decline of 40 percent compared to the same period of last year.
The trade turnover of the two countries came in at a total of $8.7 billion in the starting fourth months of 2019.
Data published by the General Administration of Customs of China showed that the Iranian imports from China stood at $2.9 billion in the cited period, showing an expansion of three percent in comparison with the corresponding figure of 2019.
However, the exports from Iran to China declined 61 percent to set only $2.3 billion.
US officials are working behind the scenes to pressure China into halting all its oil and condensate imports from Iran, oil pricing agency S&P Global Platts reported in January.
The officials, speaking to the agency, claimed that China’s imports of Iranian oil and condensate stood at 200,000 barrels per day which Washington wanted to eliminate.
The Trump administration has pledged to bring Iran’s oil exports down to zero, but the shipments have continued to reach major customers, especially in Asia.
“Just because we haven’t seen sanctions rain down on shippers and importers and the independent refiners moving that last 200,000 barrels per day yet, doesn’t mean it’s not coming,” Elizabeth Rosenberg, director of the energy program at the Center for a New American Security, told Platts.
“I fully expect sanctions on the last remaining Iran oil imports in China to becoming, but it could be a matter of time,” she added.
The US government has already imposed sanctions on a number of Chinese companies, including state-owned energy company Zhuhai Zhenrong and Cosco Shipping Corporation subsidiaries, for shipping Iranian crude oil.
- source : Iran Daily, Irannews
