After a three-month break, China has resumed importing Iranian fuel oil, a practice that has helped it avoid U.S. sanctions designed to punish countries that import crude oil from Iran. China is unique in that it has a significant amount of small refineries, called teapot refineries, that are configured to process fuel oil — a cheap byproduct of refining — rather than crude oil. This gives China the ability to make more valuable fuels such as gasoline and diesel without the need to raise imports of crude oil. Associated Press A service station worker updates fuel prices at a Sinopec gas station in Beijing The U.S. has stepped up sanctions ( pdf ) against Iran over the past decade in response to Western charges that Tehran is seeking to develop nuclear weapons — charges the Iranians deny. In late 2011, Congress passed a law penalizing financial institutions that conduct […]