Iran is accepting renminbi for some of the crude oil it supplies to China, industry executives in Beijing and Kuwait and Dubai-based bankers have said, partly as a consequence of US sanctions aimed at limiting its nuclear programme.Tehran is spending the currency, which is not freely convertible, on goods and services imported from China.Most of the oil that goes from Iran to China is handled by the Unipec trading arm of Sinopec, China’s second-largest oil company, and through another trading company called Zhuhai Zhenrong, according to the oil executives.The trade is worth as much as $20bn-$30bn annually, according to industry estimates, but a share of this is in barter form. The executives said Zhuhai Zhenrong paid Iran by providing services such as drilling.“The global financial crisis accelerated the shift from the west to the east,” said the chief executive of one bank in Dubai. “Such measures [as the US sanctions against Iran] will now enhance the acceptability of the renminbi as a transaction currency.”The US applied sanctions on Zhuhai Zhenrong this yearSanctions imposed by Washington force financial institutions to choose whether to do business with Iran or with the US, and the US has spearheaded restrictions on Tehran’s central bank. The sanctions and a diplomatic push have led to a reduction in Iranian oil imports by Japan, South Korea, India and China, which together buy more than 60 per cent of Iran’s crude oil exports.India, which already settles its oil purchases from Iran in rupees, was again urged yesterday by Hillary Clinton, US secretary of state, to reduce its imports.The renminbi purchases began some months ago. Initially the non-barter portions of the transactions were settled in Beijing through renminbi accounts but, as a result of US pressure, domestic banks such as Bank of China had stopped dealing with Iran, the oil executives and bankers said.Instead, much of the money is transferred to Tehran through Russian banks, which take large commissions on the transactions, the people said.Sinopec, Zhuhai Zhenrong and Iran’s central bank declined to comment.Additional reporting Leslie Hook in Beijing, Monavar Khalaj in Tehran and James Fontanella-Khan in Delhi北京的業(yè)內(nèi)高管和科威特、迪拜的銀行家表示，伊朗已接受用人民幣結(jié)算其向中國供應(yīng)的一部分原油，這在一定程度上是美國為遏制伊朗核計(jì)劃而實(shí)施的制裁的后果。德黑蘭正用人民幣支付從中國進(jìn)口的商品和服務(wù)。人民幣不能自由兌換。石油業(yè)高管指出，伊朗賣給中國的石油大部分由中國第二大石油企業(yè)——中石化(Sinopec)旗下的貿(mào)易公司聯(lián)合石化(Unipec)和另一家名為珠海振戎的貿(mào)易公司經(jīng)手。業(yè)界估計(jì)，兩國之間的石油貿(mào)易額每年達(dá)200億至300億美元，不過其中一部分以易貨貿(mào)易的形式進(jìn)行。業(yè)內(nèi)高管表示，珠海振戎通過向伊朗提供鉆井等服務(wù)換取石油。迪拜一家銀行的首席執(zhí)行官表示：“全球金融危機(jī)加快了從西向東的轉(zhuǎn)移。這些措施（如美國對(duì)伊朗的制裁）現(xiàn)在將推動(dòng)人們?cè)诮灰字惺褂萌嗣駧拧?rdquo;今年美國對(duì)珠海振戎實(shí)施制裁。美國實(shí)施的制裁迫使金融機(jī)構(gòu)要么和伊朗做生意，要么和美國做生意。美國還帶頭制裁伊朗央行。美國的制裁以及外交行動(dòng)導(dǎo)致日本、韓國、印度和中國減少從伊朗進(jìn)口石油。這四個(gè)GJ合計(jì)占伊朗原油出口量的60%以上。昨日，美國國務(wù)卿希拉里?克林頓(Hillary Clinton)再次敦促印度減少從伊朗進(jìn)口石油。印度已經(jīng)在使用盧比結(jié)算從伊朗購買的石油。以人民幣購買伊朗石油始于幾個(gè)月前。上述石油業(yè)高管和銀行家表示，最初，非易貨交易部分通過人民幣賬戶在北京結(jié)算，但迫于美國的壓力，中國國內(nèi)銀行如中國銀行(Bank of China)已中止與伊朗開展業(yè)務(wù)往來。上述人士表示，現(xiàn)在，大部分交易資金通過俄羅斯的銀行轉(zhuǎn)給德黑蘭，這些銀行從交易中抽取高額傭金。中石化、珠海振戎和伊朗央行均拒絕置評(píng)。何麗(Leslie Hook)北京、哈維爾?布拉斯(Monavar Khalaj)德黑蘭、詹姆斯?豐塔內(nèi)拉-可汗(James Fontanella-Khan)德里補(bǔ)充報(bào)道譯者/倪衛(wèi)國

《Iran accepts renminbi for oil as China negotiates US sanctions》永久閱讀地址: http://www.jiazhineng.cn/yingyu/190/