Opinion Reported by The Editorial Board – Wall Strret Journal

Judge a sanctions campaign by its targets. The Biden Administration, which allowed Iran’s oil exports to soar from 300,000 barrels a day in 2020 to 1.7 million a day in 2024, played whack-a-mole sanctioning front companies for PR purposes. On Thursday, by contrast, the Trump Administration sanctioned a Chinese refinery that has bought some $500 million in Iranian oil.

Designating the refiner, Shandong Shouguang Luqing Petrochemical Co., is the first real proof that “maximum pressure” sanctions are on their way back. That’s because the Iranian oil-export problem is really a Chinese import problem. About 90% of Iran’s illicit oil exports go to China, which receives a large discount. To choke off these sales, which finance Iran’s terrorism abroad, the core task is to change China’s risk calculus. 

Small, so-called teapot refineries like this one are a key part of China’s sanctions-busting strategy. Unlike larger firms with links across the global economy, the teapots are less vulnerable to sanctions. But they tend to have links across the domestic Chinese economy. That’s what makes this move a warning to China.

Read full report: https://www.wsj.com/opinion/trump-sanctions-china-company-iran-oil-exports-shandong-shouguang-luqing-petrochemical-33c5807a