China looks both ways on Iranian oil

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http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2012/02/20122113150673642.html

London, United Kingdom - China's response to calls from the West to join an oil embargo penalising Iran for its nuclear programme so far has been to choose the middle course typical of its non-interfering foreign policy of the last 30 years - denouncing sanctions on one hand yet working to protect its national interests on many fronts.

But the decision by India, another major buyer of Iran's oil, to continue importing from Tehran despite the Western sanctions, will shine uncomfortable light on the powerful nationalist sentiments among the Chinese public and the internal debate raging in China about the future course of its foreign policy.

As Tehran's largest trading partner and biggest oil customer, China's position is crucial if the West's plan to use oil embargo to force Iran to stop uranium enrichment is to succeed.

When the EU announced a ban last week on the 600,000 barrels a day it imports from Iran beginning July 1, the state-owned National Iranian Oil Co said it "will easily replace European customers." China, which imports about 20 per cent of the Iranian oil and is 50 per cent dependent on Middle Eastern oil, has been seen as a natural replacement for the loss of EU purchases.