US imposes sanctions on Chinese supplier over Iran

The US imposed sanctions Thursday on China’s state-run Zhuhai Zhenrong Corp, Iran’s largest supplier of petroleum products, in an effort to pressure Iran to rein in its nuclear program, Reuters reported. The sanctions, which were also imposed on Kuo Oil Pte Ltd of Singapore and FAL Oil Company of the United Arab Emirates, bar the companies from receiving US export licenses, US Export Import Bank financing or loans over US$10 million from US financial institutions, the State Department said. The announcement came after US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner unsuccessfully pressed China on US demands to help curb Iran’s oil revenues during a trip to Beijing this week. Analysts said the move was unlikely to significantly affect Zhenrong, which does not have much US exposure, but that it served as a warning for other state-run oil giants such as China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), China Petroleum and Chemical Corp (Sinopec Corp; SNP.NYSE, 600028.SH, 0386.HKG) and China National Offshore Oil Corp, which have invested billions of dollars in the US energy sector.