IRNA � 'Because of Beijing's close relationship with Tehran and the legitimate trade between the two countries, China does not comply with the US sanctions against Iran,' A Chinese media said in news headlines on Monday.

'Iran is a major energy supplier and an important partner in the Ancient Silk Road with China, and despite the US pressure on Beijing, China can not abide by its unilateral sanctions,' Yi Si, Chinese news website wrote on Monday.

'The issue is not just the supply of oil from Iran. There are ways to supply oil to China, but this will be a bargaining chip with the United States, especially since it has economic disadvantages for the world and China, already caused by rising oil prices,' the Chinese media added.

'China's Xinhua News Agency too regards Iran as a major contributor to China's supply of energy and oil, and China has become the largest buyer of Iranian oil. In 2018, it imported 22 million tons of crude from Iran, equivalent to 6.3 percent of China's market demand.

This Chinese website in its report quoted a Middle East expert, Hua Lee Ming, the Chinese former ambassador to Iran saying: 'It's not about China's surrendering to the United States and stopping oil and energy relations with Iran.'

He adds that Iran is a major economic, political and security partner for China and one of the biggest and most important supporters of China's New Silk Road Plan.