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China on Tuesday rejected U.S. sanctions targeting Iranian airlines, calling them “illegal” a day after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent threatened broader measures aimed at shutting Iranian carriers out of international aviation.
“China consistently opposes illegal unilateral sanctions that lack a basis in international law or authorisation from the U.N. Security Council,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told reporters.
The comments came ahead of a summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping scheduled to begin Thursday.
Bessent told CNBC that “all the Iranian airlines will be shut down around the world” within days as Washington increases economic pressure on Tehran.
The U.S. this month imposed sanctions on what it described as “all remaining Iranian airlines” that had not already been targeted.
The Treasury Department also sanctioned entities outside Iran accused of supporting the country’s aviation sector.
“If they land, you cannot provide them with fuel, you cannot provide them with landing services, you cannot sell them tickets or you will be knocked out of the dollar system,” Bessent said.
He has previously said the U.S. would impose an “economic D-Day” on Iran and seek to increase financial pressure on Tehran.
China is a major economic partner and diplomatic supporter of Iran.
Bessent’s remarks came one day after he met Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng for economic talks ahead of the Trump-Xi summit.
The U.S. and Iran have been at war since late February, when U.S.-Israeli strikes killed Iran’s supreme leader and senior military officials.
Iran responded by blocking the Strait of Hormuz, a key energy shipping route, contributing to a surge in global oil prices as the conflict spread across the region.
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