U.S. lawmakers urge sanctions probe into Chinese firms aiding Iran

Washington DC [US], June 12 : Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI) and all 11 Republican members of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party wrote to U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, requesting that the Office of Foreign Assets Control and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network investigate six People's Republic of China (PRC) companies that support Iran's military and energy sectors. According to a release by the Select Committee on the CCP, these corporations assist Iran in circumventing existing US sanctions and jeopardize US strategic interests.

Billions of dollars in US investment, goods, and services flow to these PRC enterprises. In an April report, the Select Committee discovered that as of 2023, $6.5 billion in US investment funds had been invested in PRC enterprises assessed to pose national security threats. Many of those enterprises were identified in a similar January assessment published by the Prague Security Studies Institute as having a strategic tie to Iran's military or energy industry worth at least $6 billion, according to the SCCCP release.

The lawmakers write, "Many of these companies even appear to engage in activities that violate existing U.S. sanctions against Iran. As a result, U.S. retirees are likely indirectly funding activities that run counter to U.S. national security and international stability," as quoted by the release.

They continue, "The United States must counter the new authoritarian axis spearheaded by the PRC and Iran and penalize those PRC companies that help fund Iran's activities to support Houthi attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea and stoke attacks against Israel by Hamas, Hezbollah, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad all Specially Designated Nationals by Treasury," the SCCCP release quoted.

Lawmakers requested the Treasury investigate the six companies to determine whether their activities concerning Iran have violated U.S. sanctions or otherwise warrant sanctions: China North Industries Group Co., Ltd. (Norinco), Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), China Ocean Shipping Co., Ltd. (COSCO), China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), CRRC Corporation Limited (CRRC), China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec), the SCCCP release emphasised.

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