Beijing Tells China Firms to Ignore US Sanctions on Refiners

China ordered companies in the country not to comply with US sanctions on five domestic refiners linked to the Iranian oil trade, deploying a blocking measure introduced in 2021 that was aimed at protecting its firms from foreign laws it deemed unjustified.

The refiners — including Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Refinery Co. which was sanctioned last month and several other privately-owned processors — had been facing asset freezes and transaction bans.