<p dir="ltr"><span>TEHRAN TIMES– As reported, the data adds to speculation that Beijing may risk running afoul of American sanctions to secure crude supplies from the Islamic Republic.<br> All eyes are on China’s oil purchases as Donald Trump’s administration continues to clamp down on companies and individuals flouting its restrictions. <br> The import-reliant Asian nation is one of the few remaining buyers of Iranian barrels, after other countries such as South Korea and Japan halted flows.<br> China imported about 494,000 barrels a day of Iranian crude in the first five months of this year, compared with more than 660,000 barrels a day in the same period in 2018. <br> In late June, China’s Jinxi Refining and Chemical Complex received a one-million-barrel cargo of Iranian oil in the first month after the Trump administration ended waivers permitting imports of Iranian oil.<br> Since April when the United States announced that buyers of Iranian oil should stop purchases by May 1 or face sanctions, China has been constantly opposing Washington’s policies toward Iran and Chinese officials have repeatedly announced that they will continue purchasing oil from Iran.<br> In early May, Chinese Commerce Ministry announced the country’s opposition to unilateral U.S. sanctions against Iran, saying that cutting Iranian oil supplies will only worsen volatility in global energy markets.<br> In late May, Reuters reported that Iran delivered 130,000 tons of fuel oil to China despite the U.S. sanctions.<br> Later in June, Bloomberg informed that China is still importing liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from Iran after the U.S. imposed sanctions on the country’s oil industry.<br> According to ship tracking data, the Paris-based energy researcher Kpler SAS estimated that at least five supertankers loaded Iranian LPG in May and June heading for China.<br> China is Iran’s largest oil customer with imports of 475,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the first quarter of this year, according to Chinese customs data.<br> <br class="t-last-br"> </span></p>