US President Donald Trump took to social media on Tuesday to declare that China can now resume purchasing oil from Iran, following diplomatic developments related to the Israel-Iran conflict and ongoing US mediation efforts.
In a post shared on his platform Truth Social, Trump expressed hope that Beijing would also increase oil imports from the United States, while taking credit for facilitating the shift in energy dynamics.
“China can now continue to purchase oil from Iran. Hopefully, they will be purchasing plenty from the U.S., also. It was my Great Honor to make this happen!” Trump wrote.
Beijing has long backed US-sanctioned Tehran as part of efforts to deepen its strategic and economic heft in the Middle East.
In 2021, China signed a 25-year cooperation deal with Tehran, though full details were never disclosed.
China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) in 2016 signed a $4.8 billion deal with France's Total to develop the offshore South Pars gas field in the Gulf with an Iranian state firm.
CNPC's stake of 30% was worth around $600 million. However, the state-owned petroleum giant pulled out of the project due to US pressure in 2019.
CNPC also signed a deal in 2009 to develop the North Azadegan oil field, with the first phase valued at about $2 billion. The first cargo of 2 million barrels was shipped to China in 2016.
In 2018, China National Machinery Industry Corporation signed a 5.3 billion yuan ($738 million) deal to expand and renovate a railway connecting Tehran with west Iran.
Also that year, a subsidiary of the corporation signed a contract worth 3.5 billion yuan for a 263-km railway project in west Iran.
In 2017, China's Metallurgical Corporation (MCC) invested around $350 million in the Sepid Dasht steel plant and won a design contract for a pelletising project.
