Can China Benefit From U.S.-Iran Tensions

U.S. efforts to reduce global demand for Iran’s oil exports as a means to pressure it into curbing its nuclear ambitions could present major problems for China, the leading customer of Iranian crude exports. China reacted strongly over the weekend to U.S. sanctions on Zhuhai Zhenrong, a Chinese firm the U.S. calls the largest supplier of refined petroleum to Iran. (Although a major petroleum producer, Iran is dependent on gasoline imports due to limited domestic refinery capacity.) Those imports violated U.S. law, the U.S. State Department says, and as a result Zhuhai Zhenrong is “barred from receiving U.S. export licenses, U.S. Export Import Bank financing, and loans over $10 million from U.S. financial institutions.”

Read more: http://globalspin.blogs.time.com/2012/01/16/can-china-benefit-from-growing-u-s-iran-tensions/#ixzz1jdYwLjL3