Live updates: US set to unveil ‘economic D-Day’ sanctions on Iran
US President Donald Trump’s threat of an “economic D-Day” against Iran is unlikely to bend the country to his will without China joining in. But Trump has little leverage over China to make that happen.
Last week, the American president vowed “tremendous economic consequences” against countries that continue to do business with Tehran. And on Sunday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent doubled down on Trump’s warnings, promising the “single greatest financial offensive ever marshalled against an adversary” in a Financial Times op-ed published a day before he’s expected to unveil details on Washington’s pressure campaign.
Beijing buys roughly 90% of Iranian crude exports, according to a fact sheet by a US Congress commission. China doesn’t acknowledge importing Iranian crude in its customs data.
That’s unlikely to change now, especially as China sees how unpopular the ongoing conflict has been within the US and abroad, and as Chinese leader Xi Jinping is set to visit the United States next month.
After a tumultuous year of US-China relations triggered by his renewed tariff offensive, Trump has every reason to prevent tensions between the world’s two largest economies from flaring up again. His May visit to Beijing has calmed the waters for now.
In response to Washington’s economic pressure campaign against Iran, Lin Jian, China’s foreign ministry spokesperson, said that “sanctions and pressure tactics are not the solution.”
“China calls on parties to act responsibly and stick to the political and diplomatic approach,” he reiterated on Friday.
Trump also possesses increasingly limited economic options he could leverage against China. The US Treasury Department has sanctioned independent Chinese refineries that have been importing Iranian crude, but in May, Beijing ordered its companies to ignore those restrictions.
Any major US moves against China could also risk provoking countermeasures from Beijing. China holds a trump card in rare earths — critical minerals necessary for making many items, from smartphones to electric vehicles and fighter jets. With China processing about 90% of the world’s supply, Trump must tread carefully while Western nations attempt to build alternative supply chains.