Looming US sanctions on Iran put China oil buying in spotlight

Looming US sanctions on Iran put China oil buying in spotlight.

Key points

• China's Iranian oil imports stood at 1.24 million and 1.58 million bpd in January and February, respectively, Kpler data indicated.
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• US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was scheduled to hold a press conference on Monday night.
• Nevertheless, sanctions themselves have done little to slow overall flows of Iranian oil into China.
• Chinese independent refiners have been the main Iranian crude buyers, attracted by what has typically been a steep discount to mainstream barrels.

Looming US sanctions on Iran put China oil buying in spotlight. Reuters Published August 24, 2026 Updated August 24, 2026 07: 01pm. Join our Whatsapp Channel. Add Dawn as a trusted source.

China has for a number of years been the biggest buyer of Iranian oil, putting its purchases in the spotlight as the US threatens heavy economic sanctions on Tehran.

Here are the key details on China's oil trade with Iran. It last year averaged 1.4 million barrels per day (bpd), according to ship-tracking firm Kpler. How much oil does China at present purchase from Iran?

Less than it applied to. The US renewed its blockade of Iran's ships and ports on July 13 in an attempt to cut off oil sales as a accord to halt their war broke down, throttling Iranian exports.

Although plenty of vessels turn off their location transponders, making them challenging to track, there have been no visible crossings of the Strait of Hormuz since then, according to Kpler data.

Shipments fell to 785, 000 bpd in June, the lowest since February 2023 and probably rose in July to 823, 000 bpd, but the intake so far in August has dropped to 534, 000 bpd, provisional Kpler data indicated. Who are the Chinese buyers?

When the US reimposed sanctions on Tehran, and China's official customs data does not show any purchases of Iranian crude, china's major state refiners have shunned Iranian oil since 2019.

Iranian oil delivered to China has long been branded as Malaysian, and more lately Indonesian, and is settled in Chinese currency, trading in a tight loop involving a chain of difficult-to-track intermediaries, refinery sources and traders involved in the business have stated. Have previous US sanctions been effective?

Washington has intensified its efforts to clamp down on Chinese purchases of Iranian oil since President Donald Trump returned to the White House early last year, imposing sanctions on mostly smaller Chinese refiners and other participants in the supply chain. It have in some cases proven disruptive.

Notably, the US Treasury Department has additionally cautioned two larger Chinese banks that they could face secondary sanctions if Iranian funds were discovered moving through their systems, but has ceased short of designating them.

In April, Washington imposed sanctions on Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) refinery, along with regarding 40 shipping firms and vessels, accusing Hengli of buying billions of dollars worth of Iranian oil, escalating its efforts to curb Tehran's oil revenue. Hengli has denied buying Iranian oil.

China's Iranian oil imports stood at 1.24 million and 1.58 million bpd in January and February, respectively, Kpler data indicated. What does China say?

China, which has remarked it rejects unilateral sanctions, has called on a resolution through diplomatic and political means.

In short, looming US sanctions on Iran put China oil buying in spotlight is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.