China's Ministry of Commerce(MOFCOM)on Saturday issued a blocking ban prohibiting any recognition,enforcement or compliance with US sanctions imposed on five Chinese companies on the grounds of their alleged involvement in Iranian petroleum transactions.The move has drawn widespread attention from US media,with some calling the move"unprecedented,"and others noting that the move"rewrote"rules on US sanctions.
Notably,Chinese experts pointed out that China's move is a lawful response to US unilateral sanctions and their extraterritorial application,aimed at safeguarding China's national sovereignty,security and development interests,and protecting the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese entities.
According to a MOFCOM spokesperson,since 2025,the US,under its executive orders targeting other countries,has imposed sanctions on these Chinese firms for their alleged involvement in petroleum transactions with Iran.The US measures,the spokesperson said,improperly prohibit or restrict normal economic and trade activities between Chinese companies and third countries as well as their citizens,legal persons or other organizations,in violation of international law and basic norms of international relations.
To safeguard national sovereignty,security and development interests,and to protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens,legal persons and other organizations,the ministry issued the ban based on the Rules on Counteracting Unjustified Extra-territorial Application of Foreign Legislation and Other Measures,the spokesperson noted.
This is the first time since the implementation of rules in January 2021 that China has formally activated the mechanism and issued a blocking ban,according to media reports.
"China has ordered its companies to ignore[US]sanctions,an unprecedented act of defiance,"Bloomberg reported on Monday,claiming that Beijing has often railed against unilateral sanctions and pronounced them illegitimate.
The Bloomberg report further asserted that"Beijing's move will test the[US]sanctions system at a time when it's already under pressure,as Washington vacillates on curbs against Russia,Venezuela and Iran."
An article published by Fortune on Monday also called the move"unprecedented"and claimed that"it just rewrote the rules on[US]sanctions."The article went into details about how the blocking ban would work under the Rules on Counteracting Unjustified Extra-territorial Application of Foreign Legislation and Other Measures,and pointed out that"this is a move with teeth."
Some other US media outlets,including the Wall Street Journal,also noted the first-time use of the"blocking rule"by the MOFCOM in response to US sanctions.
China's issuance of the blocking ban in accordance with its domestic laws and regulations is a lawful countermeasure against the US'unilateral sanctions and their improper extraterritorial application,He Weiwen,a senior fellow at the Center for China and Globalization,told the Global Times on Tuesday.
"China's move constitutes a normal step to safeguard national sovereignty,security,and development interests,and also aims to protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises and other relevant entities in accordance with the law,"said the expert.
