The Implications for China of U.S. Sanctions on Iran

The United States has until June 28 to exempt foreign banks that finance business operations in Iran from sanctions that would bar them from U.S. markets. So far, banks from most major buyers of Iranian crude, such as Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, India and a number of European countries, have received exemptions. But China, which accounted for more than a fifth of Iran's crude exports in the latter half of 2011, is conspicuously missing from the exemptions list. Even if China does not receive official exemption, Beijing and Washington have an interest in working around any moves that would threaten to significantly alter bilateral ties between the two countries.