WASHINGTON: US and Chinese officials may be able to settle many of their differences to reach a trade deal and avert punishing tariffs, but they remain far apart on one issue: the US demand that China stop purchasing oil from Iran and Russia. “China will always ensure its energy supply in ways that serve our national interests,” China’s Foreign Ministry posted on X on Wednesday following two days of trade negotiations in Stockholm, responding to the US threat of a 100 percent tariff. “Coercion and pressuring will not achieve anything.