China's Ministry of Commerce fired back at the Trump administration on Saturday, issuing a formal legal injunction ordering that US sanctions imposed on five Chinese oil refineries 'cannot be recognised, implemented, or complied with.' The move marked one of Beijing's most assertive institutional responses yet to Washington's escalating effort to cut off Iranian oil revenue.
The injunction, announced via state news agency Xinhua, covers Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Refinery and four so-called 'teapot' refineries: Shandong Jincheng Petrochemical Group, Hebei Xinhai Chemical Group, Shouguang Luqing Petrochemical and Shandong Shengxing Chemical. The ministry declared the US sanctions a violation of 'international law and the basic norms of international relations.'
