China’s crude oil imports from Iran this month could reach close to 1 million bpd, Reuters reported today, citing trading and analyst sources. That would be almost half the amount Saudi Arabia exports to China. An earlier report by Reuters from the beginning of the month said that China was buying record-high volumes of Iranian crude in anticipation of the Biden Administration lifting sanctions on Tehran. Even India, the report said, started planning for Iranian oil purchases. Later in March, Washington warned China to stop buying oil from Iran, according to a senior administration official. “We’ve told the Chinese that we will continue to enforce our sanctions,” the unnamed official told the FT. “There will be no tacit green light.” The Trump-era sanctions may be waived if Iran and the U.S. make it to the negotiation table, but that still remains uncertain. “Ultimately, our goal is not to enforce […]