China pushes back at US demands to stop buying Russian and Iranian oil
[August 04, 2025] By
DIDI TANG
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. and Chinese officials may be able to settle many
of their differences to reach a trade deal and avert punishing tariffs,
but they remain far apart on one issue: the U.S. demand that China stop
purchasing oil from Iran and Russia.
“China will always ensure its energy supply in ways that serve our
national interests,” China's Foreign Ministry posted on X on Wednesday
following two days of trade negotiations in Stockholm, responding to the
U.S. threat of a 100% tariff.
“Coercion and pressuring will not achieve anything. China will firmly
defend its sovereignty, security and development interests," the
ministry said.
The response is notable at a time when both Beijing and Washington are
signaling optimism and goodwill about reaching a deal to keep commercial
ties between the world's two largest economies stable — after climbing
down from sky-high tariffs and harsh trade restrictions. It underscores
China's confidence in playing hardball when dealing with the Trump
administration, especially when trade is linked to its energy and
foreign policies.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, emerging from the talks, told
reporters that when it comes to Russian oil purchases, the "Chinese take
their sovereignty very seriously.”
“We don’t want to impede on their sovereignty, so they would like to pay
a 100% tariff," Bessent said.
On Thursday, he called the Chinese “tough” negotiators, but said China's
pushback hasn't stalled the negotiations. “I believe that we have the
makings of a deal,” Bessent told CNBC.
Gabriel Wildau, managing director of the consultancy Teneo, said he
doubts President Donald Trump would actually deploy the 100% tariff.
“Realizing those threats would derail all the recent progress and
probably kill any chance” for Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping to
announce a trade deal if they should meet this fall, Wildau said.
In seeking to restrict oil sales by Russia and Iran, a major source of
revenue for both countries, the U.S. wants to reduce the funding
available for their militaries, as Moscow pursues its war against
Ukraine and Tehran funds militant groups across the Middle East.
China plays hardball
When Trump unveiled a sweeping plan for tariffs on dozens of countries
in April, China was the only country that retaliated. It refused to give
in to U.S. pressure.
“If the U.S. is bent on imposing tariffs, China will fight to the end,
and this is China’s consistent official stance,” said Tu Xinquan,
director of the China Institute for WTO Studies at the University of
International Business and Economics in Beijing. WTO is the acronym for
the World Trade Organization.
Negotiating tactics aside, China may also suspect that the U.S. won't
follow through on its threat, questioning the importance Trump places on
countering Russia, Tu said.
Scott Kennedy, senior adviser and trustee chair in Chinese Business and
Economics at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in
Washington, said Beijing is unlikely to change its posture when it sees
inconsistencies in U.S. foreign policy goals toward Russia and Iran,
whereas Beijing's policy support for Moscow is consistent and clear.
It's also possible that Beijing may want to use it as another
negotiating tool to extract more concessions from Trump, Kennedy said.
Danny Russel, a distinguished fellow at the Asia Society Policy
Institute, said Beijing now sees itself as “the one holding the cards in
its struggle with Washington." He said Trump has made it clear he wants
a “headline-grabbing deal” with Xi, “so rejecting a U.S. demand to stop
buying oil from Iran or Russia is probably not seen as a deal‑breaker,
even if it generates friction and a delay."
Continuing to buy oil from Russia preserves Xi's “strategic solidarity”
with Russian President Vladimir Putin and significantly reduces the
economic costs for China, Russel said.
[to top of second column] |
A Russian and Chinese national flag flutter near Tiananmen Gate for
the visiting Russia's President Vladimir Putin, in Beijing, May 16,
2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File)
 “Beijing simply can’t afford to walk
away from the oil from Russia and Iran," he said. “It’s too
important a strategic energy supply, and Beijing is buying it at
fire‑sale prices.”
China depends on oil from Russia and Iran
A 2024 report by the U.S. Energy Information Administration
estimates that roughly 80% to 90% of the oil exported by Iran went
to China. The Chinese economy benefits from the more than 1 million
barrels of Iranian oil it imports per day.
After the Iranian parliament floated a plan to shut down the Strait
of Hormuz in June following U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear
facilities, China spoke out against closing the critical oil transit
route.
China also is an important customer for Russia, but is second to
India in buying Russian seaborne crude oil exports. In April,
Chinese imports of Russian oil rose 20% over the previous month to
more than 1.3 million barrels per day, according to the KSE
Institute, an analytical center at the Kyiv School of Economics.
This past week, Trump said the U.S. will impose a 25% tariff on
goods from India, plus an additional import tax because of India’s
purchasing of Russian oil. India's Foreign Ministry said Friday its
relationship with Russia was “steady and time-tested."
Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff and a top policy
adviser, said Trump has been clear that it is “not acceptable” for
India to continue financing the Ukraine war by purchasing oil from
Russia.
“People will be shocked to learn that India is basically tied with
China in purchasing Russian oil,” Miller said on Fox News Channel’s
“Sunday Morning Futures.” He said the U.S. needs “to get real about
dealing with the financing of this war.”
Congress demands action
Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, is pushing
for sanctions and tariffs on Russia and its financial backers. In
April, he introduced a bill that would authorize the president to
impose tariffs as high as 500% not only on Russia but on any country
that “knowingly” buys oil, uranium, natural gas, petroleum products
or petrochemical products from Russia.
"The purpose of this legislation is to break the cycle of China — a
communist dictatorship — buying oil below market price from Putin’s
Russia, which empowers his war machine to kill innocent Ukrainian
civilians,” Graham said in a June statement.
The bill has 84 co-sponsors in the 100-seat Senate. A corresponding
House version has been introduced, also with bipartisan support.
Republicans say they stand ready to move on the sanctions
legislation if Trump asks them to do so, but the bill is on hold for
now.
___
Associated Press writers David McHugh in Frankfurt and Rajesh Roy in
New Delhi and researcher Yu Bing in Beijing contributed to the
report.
All contents © copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved
 |
