China still importing Iran’s oil despite US bans: Customs data

Data published by China’s General Administration of Customs on Saturday showed that the country had imported some 208,205 barrels per day (bpd) of Iran’s oil in June.
 
That comes as Beijing was supposed to cut its crude imports from Iran to zero as demanded by a series of illegal sanctions imposed by the United States which seeks to force Iran into new concessions over its nuclear and missile programs.
 
Washington has been expecting Beijing to halt imports from Iran after waivers granted to China and several other countries to exempt them from the sanctions ended in May. China had shown that it would defy the bans since they came into effect in November.
 
The data by Chinese customs authorities showed that crude imports from Iran in June was just around 20 percent down from May when the country had bought 254,016 bpd of Iran's oil.
 
China’s total oil import from Iran last month stood at 855,638 tons, showed the data as covered in a report by Reuters news agency.
 
Iran has admitted that tighter US restrictions that began in May have affected imports although authorities insist they would continue to sell crude through unconventional methods.
 
China has condemned Washington’s use of sanctions against other states, designating them as a form of "bullying".
 
Beijing has said it would keep its trade and energy ties with Tehran despite the fact that several major Chinese companies have been affected by US sanctions over their role in energy imports from Iran.