China's Ministry of Commerce issued an injunction blocking domestic compliance with U.S. sanctions on five Chinese refiners accused by Washington of buying Iranian oil, state news agency Xinhua reported on May 2. The order prohibits entities inside China from recognizing, enforcing or otherwise complying with these U.S. sanctions, putting Chinese and foreign companies operating in China in conflict with Washington's restrictions.

The order marks the first use of China's blocking statute to directly counter U.S. sanctions on Chinese companies, developed in 2021, and is in response to the U.S. sanctions campaign expanding from shipping networks and smaller so-called teapot refiners toward larger private refiners and attendant banking and finance channels. In particular, it follows the U.S. Treasury's April 24 designation of Hengli Petrochemical's Dalian refinery, which is among China's largest private refiners, after Washington accused Hengli of buying billions of dollars of Iranian oil. Earlier U.S. sanctions had already targeted four other independent Chinese refiners.