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WASHINGTON: US sanctions against Iran will not succeed without China’s compliance, and Beijing appears increasingly defiant because it holds powerful economic leverage over Washington, The New York Times reported on Saturday.
According to the report, a major reason US pressure could backfire is that “China is equipped to cut the supply of critical minerals to American companies, including makers of US weapons.”
The Times said China had already demonstrated the power of this economic “chokehold” during last year’s trade confrontation with Washington, when Beijing restricted critical-mineral exports and forced President Donald Trump to pause an escalating trade war. The resulting détente has largely held.
That experience may have strengthened Beijing’s belief that Washington will hesitate before imposing sweeping economic penalties on China over its trade with Iran, the newspaper noted.
