00:01A new confrontation is brewing between Washington and Beijing, and Iran is right at the center of it.
00:08China has issued a blunt warning to the United States after President Donald Trump's administration threatened countries maintaining economic ties
00:18with Tehran.
00:19Under the newly launched Operation Economic Outcast, Washington is preparing sweeping secondary sanctions against businesses and financial networks connected to
00:30Iran.
00:30But Beijing is refusing to back down.
00:34Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Zhen said China firmly opposes what it called illegal unilateral sanctions.
00:42The cooperation between China and Iran has always been conducted within the framework of international law and it should not
00:49be subject to any disruption.
00:51China is currently keeping a close watch on all relevant developments and we will take all necessary measures to firmly
00:58safeguard our legitimate rights and interests.
01:01China has repeatedly stated its firm opposition to illegal unilateral sanctions that lack a basis in international law and are
01:09not authorized by the UN Security Council.
01:13Economic warfare and maximum pressure do not help solve problems.
01:18They only further intensify conflicts, cause risk spillovers, disrupt the global economic and financial order and damage the legitimate rights
01:26and interests of other countries.
01:27Lin Zhen's message came as Washington escalates its economic pressure campaign against Iran.
01:33He said China opposes unilateral sanctions that lack a proper international legal basis.
01:40More importantly, he made clear that Beijing does not intend to simply abandon its relationship with Tehran because of American
01:48pressure.
01:49China is also calling for a ceasefire between the United States and Iran, arguing that sanctions and economic pressure will
01:57not solve the underlying conflict.
01:59But Washington sees the issue very differently.
02:02The Trump administration wants to use America's financial power to make supporting Iran increasingly expensive for countries and companies around
02:12the world.
02:12And China could be the biggest test of that strategy.
02:17Treasury Secretary Besant Sal has described the campaign as an economic assault designed to isolate Tehran from the global financial
02:25system.
02:26Washington is targeting key sectors, including digital assets, technology, gold, aviation and shipping.
02:34But the real pressure point could be the threat of secondary sanctions.
02:39That means foreign companies and financial institutions could face American penalties for continuing transactions linked to Iran.
02:47And among all of Iran's trading partners, China is arguably the most important.
02:54China is not a minor customer.
02:57China is Iran's largest trading partner and the biggest buyer of its oil exports.
03:02That makes any attempt to sever the relationship extraordinarily difficult.
03:06According to U.S. government data cited in the report, China accounts for nearly 90 percent of Iran's oil exports.
03:15KPLER estimates that Chinese buyers purchased an average of approximately 1.38 million barrels per day of Iranian oil in
03:252025.
03:26Much of that trade is structured to avoid the American financial system.
03:30Independent Chinese refiners reportedly purchase Iranian crude in large quantities, with some shipments rebranded as oil from countries such as
03:39Malaysia or Indonesia.
03:41Payments can also move through intermediaries outside the U.S. dollar system.
03:46That creates a major challenge for Washington.
03:49The United States can threaten access to its financial system, but China has been developing ways to reduce dependence on
03:57it.
03:57The scale of the relationship is enormous.
04:00China reported almost $10 billion in bilateral trade with Iran in 2025.
04:06But American estimates suggest the official figure does not capture the full scale of the relationship.
04:13The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission estimated that billions more in Iranian crude exports to China went unreported.
04:22Washington has already demonstrated that it is willing to target Chinese companies involved in Iranian oil.
04:29In April, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned a Chinese independent refinery over purchases of Iranian oil.
04:37It also warned Chinese financial institutions about potential secondary sanctions.
04:42Now, the Trump administration is dramatically widening that pressure.
04:46The confrontation is no longer simply about Iran.
04:50It is increasingly about who gets to decide the rules of global trade.
04:55Washington controls access to one of the world's most powerful financial systems, and can use the dollar as a tool
05:02of economic pressure.
05:04Beijing, meanwhile, has a direct economic interest in keeping Iranian oil flowing.
05:09And China has repeatedly rejected what it considers America's extraterritorial use of sanctions.
05:17That creates a dangerous collision.
05:20For now, Beijing's message is unmistakable.
05:24China says Washington should not interfere with its relationship with Iran.
05:28The United States, meanwhile, is warning that countries continuing to provide Iran with economic lifelines could face serious consequences.
05:37And that leaves China at the center of the confrontation.
05:41Iran needs buyers for its oil.
05:44China needs energy.
05:45Washington wants that trade stopped.
06:07China needs power.
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