INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
abandon the wrong practice of resorting to sanctions, Mehr News Agency reported.In his regular Press Conference on Thursday, Chinese Foreign
Ministry Spokesman Zhao Lijian reacted to the new sanctions announced by the United States on Wednesday against a group of Chinese, Emirati,
and other companies that it accused of helping Iran to deliver and sell its oil petroleum and petrochemical products to East Asia."China has
always been firmly opposed to illegal and unjustifiable unilateral sanctions and so-called long-arm jurisdiction by the United States We
urge the United States side to abandon the wrong practice of resorting to sanctions at every turn and contribute positively to negotiations
with Iran within the framework of international law
This is reasonable and lawful without harm done to any third party, and deserves to be respected and protected," Zhao Lijian added.While
China has been making sporadic official imports of Iranian oil, its private refineries have also been buying large amounts of Iranian oil
over the past two years despite the United States' sanctions on its oil exports.Iran delivered a shipment of nearly two million barrels of
cargo, carried by vessel Dorena which is owned by the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) is said to be destined for state reserves.The
arrival of the new shipment indicates that Iranian crude oil exports to China have been continuing in large volumes despite claims that the
increased Russian supply of crude to China has affected Iranian shipments.The said cargo would be the fourth such shipment designated for
state reserves since last December.EF/MA
