Secret China-Iran Trade Channel Suspected: Did Military Equipment Change Hands?

Allegations have been raised that Iran engaged in secret trade, receiving payments for crude oil exports to China not in cash, but in the form of "credits" to purchase Chinese goods.

Reuters reported today (September 10) that it has discovered a firm representing China's state-owned oil trader, Zhuhai Zhenrong, deposited hundreds of millions of dollars each month into financial institutions within China with unclear identities.

This fund is the transaction payment with a Hong Kong-registered company linked to the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), and about 70% of it was paid to infrastructure projects in Iran, while the remainder was paid to Chinese companies supplying goods to Iran through special-purpose entities, according to the report.

Citing high-ranking Iranian sources and others, Reuters reported that vehicles, communication equipment, and even military equipment from Chinese companies are suspected of being traded through this channel.

It also estimated that the funds flowing through this entity over the past year amount to between $2 billion and $2.5 billion.

Reuters stated that it could not confirm the existence of the Chinese financial institutions in Chinese corporate registries, and quoted a source as saying, "It could be a company that only exists on a spreadsheet."

Regarding this, Andrea Ghiselli, a professor at the University of Exeter in the UK, analyzed that "China is trying to show through such transactions that it will not bow to the threat of U.S. secondary sanctions."

Both China and Iran declined to comment on these allegations.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry stated in a conventional stance, "We are not aware of such a situation," adding, "We consistently oppose unilateral sanctions without the approval of the UN Security Council."

Iran's mission to the United Nations declined to comment.

Previously, Reuters reported in July that there had been no successful shipments of Iranian crude oil to China following the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

(Reported by Kim Jiuk | Video Editing by Jang Yu-jin | Design by Lee Sumin | Produced by SBS Digital News | Footage source: Reuters)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.