Iran Protests Live Updates: Protesters participate in a demonstration in Berlin, Germany, in support of the nationwide mass protests in Iran against the government. (Photo: AP)
China has opposed US President Donald Trump’s threat to impose new tariffs on countries that continue to do business with Iran, calling the move coercive and ineffective, Reuters reported.
In a post on X late on Monday, a spokesperson for China’s embassy in Washington said Beijing “firmly opposes any illicit unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction” after Trump announced that the United States would levy a 25 per cent tariff on all goods and services imported from any country that trades with Iran.
“China’s position against the indiscriminate imposition of tariffs is consistent and clear,” the spokesperson said, adding that “tariff wars and trade wars have no winners, and coercion and pressure cannot solve problems.”
Trump said the order would take effect immediately and described it as “final and conclusive” in a social media post. “Any country doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran will pay a tariff of 25% on any and all business being done with the United States of America,” he wrote.
The measure is global in scope but is expected to affect major economies with strong commercial or energy ties to Iran, including China and India, as well as Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the European Union.
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China is Iran’s largest trading partner, accounting for about 30 per cent of its total foreign trade and the vast majority of its oil exports. However, official Chinese customs data released in late December showed trade between China and Iran fell by 24 per cent in the first 11 months of last year.
Trump has linked the new tariffs to Iran’s crackdown on anti-government protests, during which hundreds of protesters and security personnel have reportedly been killed and internet access has been severely restricted.
Trump is expected to use executive authority to impose the tariffs without congressional approval, though his broader tariff powers are currently being challenged in the US Supreme Court, which is due to rule this week.
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Iran Protests Live Updates: Protesters participate in a demonstration in Berlin, Germany, in support of the nationwide mass protests in Iran against the government. (Photo: AP) 
