China to continue oil imports from Iran

Speaking at the 2012 Boao Forum in China, the vice chairman of China’s National Development and Reform Commission, Zhang Guobao, said on Sunday that his country will not be influenced by the edicts of “some country,” the website MarketWatch reported. The former head of China's National Energy Administration also said that the recent US and European Union sanctions against crude imports from Iran do not include "halting normal trade” with the Islamic Republic. Zhang noted that the US oil sanctions against Iran have pushed up crude prices and harmed the global economy. He said the release of strategic oil reserves by countries such as the US can affect prices only for a short time, adding that it would not help keep crude prices in check. Meanwhile, Fu Chengyu, the chairman of China Petroleum and Chemical Corp., warned that oil sanctions on Iran would push oil prices still higher. He also referred to the impact and pressures caused by the sanctions and said the embargos would harm the global economic recovery. The US and EU have imposed financial and oil sanctions against Iran since the beginning of 2012, under the allegation that the country’s nuclear energy program has military aspects. Meanwhile, US President Barack Obama last week gave the green light for fresh sanctions against foreign banks and other financial institutions by or through which Iran’s oil is purchased. He argued that there is enough oil on world markets to ensure the move will not trigger an oil shock hitting US consumers. Iran rejects allegations of pursuing military objectives in its nuclear energy program, arguing that as a committed signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency, it has the right to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.