World Wide Web reporter Zhong Weidong reported that the experience significantly reduced in the beginning of this year, Chinese oil imports from Iran in April after a rebound in imports of Iranian oil. Reuters reported on May 21, solve the fixed-term contracts of a pricing dispute with China in April by Iran’s import volume of crude oil increased by over 50 percent compared with March, but a decrease of nearly 24 percent from a year earlier. “The Wall Street Journal reported on May 21, which indicates that in the context of U.S. sanctions against Iran, China is still the stability of the buyer of Iranian oil.

Reuters quoted the China Customs said in April by Iran’s crude oil imports fell 23.7 percent to 388,034 barrels a day. Compared with March, imports grew more than 53%, because the two countries to solve the regular contractual disputes in the end of March.

Wall Street Journal reported that a commercial dispute with the National Iranian Oil Company, the China International United Petroleum & Chemicals Co., Ltd. in March suspended some of Iran’s crude oil import activities. The dispute has been resolved in mid-February. But the incident led to China on Iran’s crude oil imports decreased by at least 40%, equivalent to Japanese imports decreased by 220,000 -28 million barrels. However, one insider familiar with Iran’s oil sales activities, said the next few months, Chinese imports of Iranian crude oil will rebound.

U.S. Fox News 21 also reported that China’s oil imports from Iran in April rebound may signal a further increase in imports in the next few months, but this year’s imports can not be compared with last year. In addition, the report also quoted Chinese officials as saying that Western sanctions against Iran is unlikely to have an impact on China to buy oil from Iran. This is very different from the neighboring countries of China’s neighboring Japan and South Korea in order to obtain the U.S. sanctions, “immunity”, have been to reduce the import of Iranian oil.

Reuters report also said China and India face the United States and Europe pressured to reduce the purchase of Iranian oil, as the world’s largest buyer of Iranian oil, and their actions will determine the West to cut off its oil revenue to force Iran to halt its nuclear program strategy can succeed.

(Editor: Zhang Chun)