TEHRAN – China’s ambassador to Iran said US pressure will have no impact on cooperation between Tehran and Beijing.
Kong Pei-wu told reporters that his country is ignoring and turning a blind eye to the undue pressure from the United States, and that in reality it will take the opposite stance. He explained, “The U.S.’s unilateral sanctions against Iran will not disrupt bilateral relations, and we will continue our exchanges.”
This comes after the presidents of Iran and China pledged to fully implement the 25-year Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Document, which focuses on close cooperation between the two countries in all fields.
During a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing in early October, President Masoud Pezeshkian also expressed Tehran’s support for Xi’s global governance initiative and said Iran was ready to cooperate with China under all circumstances to take relations to the “maximum level.”
Pezeshkian said China can rely on Iran as a “strong and determined” partner and expressed interest in joint projects including high-speed rail and highways. He also criticized the United States for pursuing unilateral policies and interfering in other countries.
Xi said China is committed to advancing relations with Iran with a “future-oriented outlook” and called for prompt implementation of bilateral agreements, including those discussed at the previous meeting in Kazan.
The Chinese leader described Iran as a “strategic partner” and called for closer cooperation within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to counter unilateralism. After Pezeshikian’s return, Islamic Revolution leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said his visit to China was important.
The Chinese government supports Tehran in its nuclear conflict with Western countries. More than a month ago, Iran, China and Russia announced in a letter to UN Secretary-General António Guterres that there was no legal basis for moves by Britain, France and Germany to reimpose pre-JCPOA UN sanctions against Iran.
Britain, France and Germany activated the so-called snapback mechanism on August 28, beginning the process of reinstating all UN sanctions against Iran.
These three European allies, along with the United States, had hoped that sanctions would curb the flow of oil from Iran to major customers such as China.
Nevertheless, Iranian experts and officials have consistently downplayed concerns raised about the country’s oil exports, insisting that US pressure will not affect Iran’s oil trade or access to international markets.
Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Pakhnejad said in early October that Iran had overcome some of the toughest US sanctions targeting the country’s oil industry in recent years, and said the UN sanctions would not put new pressure on the country’s oil exports.
The latest data from a leading energy analysis firm shows that Iran has set a new record for oil exports despite continued US pressure and UN sanctions.
Tankers Truckers said in a Nov. 9, 2025, post on its X account that Iran has exported an average of 2.3 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil over the past four weeks. “These are numbers we haven’t seen since early 2018,” the post said.
In May 2018, when the United States withdrew from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, Iran’s oil exports were subject to full U.S. sanctions.
The sanctions affected Iran’s oil shipments when they were tightened in May 2019, but have gradually become less effective as Iran recovers and expands exports, particularly to private buyers in China.
Tanker Tracker had already reported that Iranian oil exports reached nearly 2 million barrels a day in September, a new record high in seven years.
The report was released just before the United Nations reimposed six sanctions resolutions against Iran that were lifted in 2015 when Iran signed the JCPOA with world powers.
Apart from the nuclear issue and oil exports, Iran is also likely to turn to China to correct deficiencies noted during the 12-day US and Israeli invasion in June. Air defense systems and fighter jets are among the equipment Iran may seek to purchase from China.