Beijing Tells China Firms to Ignore US Sanctions on Refiners

Bloomberg.com · last updated May 3, 2026 – 4:34 PM

China ordered companies in the country not to comply with US sanctions on five domestic refiners linked to the Iranian oil trade, deploying a blocking measure introduced in 2021 that was aimed at protecting its firms from foreign laws it deemed unjustified.

The refiners — including Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Refinery Co. which was sanctioned last month and several other privately-owned processors — had been facing asset freezes and transaction bans.

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