China still imports about 1.2 million barrels of Iranian oil daily despite sanctions

Chinese refineries are still receiving about 1.2 million barrels of Iranian oil per day—volumes have barely changed from last year. Deliveries are made through sanctions evasion schemes: oil is transferred from ship to ship off the coast of Malaysia, and payments are made in yuan or cryptocurrency. Meanwhile, Washington has refrained from imposing sanctions on major Chinese banks and financial institutions. The New York Times links this to the U.S. reluctance to risk the fragile truce with Beijing ahead of Xi Jinping's expected visit to America next month.