China Chides EU Over Iran Ban

The Chinese government on Thursday criticized the European Union for banning oil imports from Iran, underscoring the difficulty the U.S. faces in creating a wedge between Iran and China, one of the largest buyers of Iranian crude.

In a statement reported by the state-run Xinhua news agency, China's Foreign Ministry said, "To blindly pressure and impose sanctions on Iran are not constructive approaches." The statement, responding to a question submitted by Xinhua, said China hopes to solve such disputes through dialogue and consultation.

The EU announced its ban on Monday, the start of China's weeklong Lunar New Year holiday. It's set to take effect on July 1, after a review to ensure alternative sources for weaker EU economies.

The EU also agreed to freeze the assets of Iran's central bank, the conduit for the country's oil revenue, and ban trade with its petrochemical industry. Iran, the world's fourth-largest oil producer, gets about 20% of its oil revenue from Europe.

The EU and the U.S. see sanctions as a way to force Iran into negotiations over its nuclear program, which Iran says is for peaceful uses. But China remains a considerable holdout. It is Iran's No. 2 buyer of crude, behind the EU, and its dependence on Iran grew last year, with imports rising more than 30% to 27.8 million metric tons, or nearly 560,000 barrels a day, according to customs data. China consumes more than nine million barrels of oil a day, making it second only to the U.S.

Another major buyer of Iranian oil, India, has also refused to curtail purchases.

China has joined previous United Nations efforts aimed at getting Tehran to curtail any nuclear-weapons ambitions, and on a trip to the Middle East earlier this month Premier Wen Jiabao reiterated that China opposes Iran's alleged nuclear-weapons program. But China has balked at the U.S. efforts to raise pressure on Iran outside U.N. auspices.

The EU ban could give China more leverage with Iran's state oil company. People familiar with contract talks between China United Petroleum & Chemicals Co, or Unipec, and the National Iranian Oil Co. have said the two sides are still haggling over economic terms, in a dispute these people have said is unrelated to the nuclear issue.

The status of the dispute was unclear on Thursday.