(Worthy Insights) – Last month, the Chinese government banned oil tankers subject to US sanctions from entering ports in Shandong, the key province for China-Iran trade, through which about 90% of Iranian oil flows.
As a result, China’s imports of Iranian oil plummeted by more than half. According to data from the French analytics firm Kpler, Iran’s oil shipments to China fell below 850,000 barrels per day in January, compared to over 1.8 million barrels per day in October 2023. In 2024, Shandong alone received approximately 1.74 million barrels per day from Iran, Russia, and Venezuela – accounting for about 17% of China’s total imports. However, last month, these figures dropped to less than half.
Iran’s oil export revenues had already been suffering due to US sanctions. Following Iran’s missile attack in October, the Biden administration imposed sanctions on dozens of tankers carrying Iranian oil, leading to a slight decline in China-Iran trade. However, the most significant blow came last month, with some speculating that Beijing’s tougher stance on Iran stems from fears that US President Donald Trump would impose sanctions on China.
Most Iranian oil tankers are now anchored in waters off Singapore and Malaysia, while Tehran scrambles to find non-sanctioned vessels to transport shipments to Shandong. [ Source: Israel Hayom (Read More…) ]