July 9, 2025 | The National Interest
How China Is Quietly Funding Iran’s War Machine
Chinese firms, especially Wanda Holdings, are helping Iran bypass sanctions, funding Tehran’s military through illicit oil trade. Targeting China’s economic links is key to stopping Iran’s rearmament and future threats.
July 9, 2025 | The National Interest
How China Is Quietly Funding Iran’s War Machine
Chinese firms, especially Wanda Holdings, are helping Iran bypass sanctions, funding Tehran’s military through illicit oil trade. Targeting China’s economic links is key to stopping Iran’s rearmament and future threats.
Excerpt
For too long, the United States has given China a pass on slave labor, unfair trade practices, and its quiet but critical support for America’s adversaries. Nowhere is that support potentially more dangerous than in Iran.
In June, while US and Israeli jets struck targets in Iran, China’s oil imports from Iran surged to record highs. Approximately half of Iran’s military budget stems from oil and gas sales, and no country is more critical to sustaining this financial lifeline than China.
To be sure, destroying Iran’s nuclear program and military infrastructure is vital, but so is denying the regime the cash it will need to rebuild and rearm. That means going after the buyers, bankers, and billionaires in China, propping up Iran’s oil economy. It means sanctioning China to stop Iran.
How Do Chinese Billionaires Profit From Iran’s Dictatorship?
A little-known billionaire and member of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Shang Jiyang is the chairman and controlling shareholder of Wanda Holdings Group (not to be confused with the larger Dalian Wanda Group), a sprawling conglomerate at the heart of China’s illicit oil trade with Iran. Wanda operates everything from pipelines and petrochemical plants to port terminals and oil refineries.
Elaine Dezenski is senior director and head of the Center on Economic and Financial Power at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy. Max Meizlish is a senior research analyst for the Center on Economic and Financial Power at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Follow him on X: @maxmeizlish.