JAN. 6 -  Zhang Yesui, the Chinese ambassador to the United Nations, said in a press conference Tuesday that his country opposed tougher sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program.

“Sanctions themselves are not an end,” he said. According to a report in today’s New York Times, the Chinese buy about 15 percent of their oil from Iran.

“State-run companies like the China National Petroleum Corporation have signed billions of dollars’ worth of deals to help Iran develop oil and gas fields and to expand its refining capacity,” according to the Times.

See also today’s report in the Washington Post.

On Jan. 4, the Wall Street Journal,  highlighting a recent report by the Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control, described how Chinese firms have been evading U.S. sanctions imposed because of proliferation to Iran.