“For a long time, China and Iran have had open, transparent and normal commercial cooperation in the fields of business, trade and energy, which is reasonable, fair and lawful,” China Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday.
“This does not violate United Nations Security Council resolutions or China’s promised international obligations, nor does it harm the interests of any other country, and should be respected and protected,” the statement reads.
'Using sanctions at the slightest pretext or to threaten anyone won’t resolve the problem,' the statement added.
“Only dialogue and negotiations are the true path to resolving the issue,” China Foreign Ministry reiterated.
As one of the signatories of Iran nuclear deal also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), China has always supported preserving the deal and developing ties with Iran.
The volume of trade exchanges between Iran and China was about 37.3 billion dollar in 2017.
The figure experienced about 19.3% growth compared with the same amount in 2016.
Beijing had earlier announced its opposition against US sanctions, saying the country is not committed to these sanctions indicating Washington's unilateralism in the world.
9376**1771
Follow us on Twitter @IrnaEnglish