Controversy involves alleged transactions with Iran
A Chinese company was closed down on Sunday after being listed by the U.S. in sanctions against Iran for supporting the country's ballistic missile program and military, which the company's owner claims is nonsense.
Richard Yue, owner of Cosailing Business Trade Co, a company based in Qingdao, East China's Shandong Province, told the Global Times that he had no choice but to close his company after his bank accounts were frozen.
Yue said the local branch of the State-owned Agricultural Bank of China called on Sunday morning to inform him that his accounts with the bank, both personal and business, would be frozen.
"What other choice do I have?" Yue said, adding he was angrier to receive the call from the bank than to be informed by a friend that he was included in a U.S. sanctions list.
"Since when do Chinese banks listen to what the U.S. government says?" he asked.
Yue and his company were among two Chinese companies and three individuals listed by the U.S. in its latest set of sanctions against Iran, after Iran reportedly tested a ballistic missile.
The U.S. Treasury Department on Friday also listed Jack Qin, an employee of Ningbo New Century Import and Export and Carol Zhou, for supplying dual-use and other components and goods to Abdollah Asgharzadeh, an Iranian businessman who, the U.S. claims, has been procuring controlled and dual-use technology and materials to support Iran's ballistic missile programs, according to a statement on the department's website.
The Global Times was not able to reach the other individuals as of press time, but Yue said that the U.S. claims were wrong and based on events that had not happened.
According to Yue, an Iranian company contacted him for "cloth and other articles for daily use," but he did not do business with the company because he was told not to by China's Ministry of Commerce.
There was no official comment on the listing of Chinese firms by the U.S. from the Chinese government on Sunday. But China has previously been opposed to "unilateral sanctions" that hurt Chinese companies.
China and Iran have maintained close economic ties. Latest data on the website of the Chinese Embassy in Iran showed that in the first half of 2016, non-financial investment by Chinese companies in Iran increased 43.5 percent year-on-year, while Iranian investment in China increased by 29.5 percent compared to the same period in 2015.
