China Review News published a special commentary stating that China should not join the United States in sanctioning Iran unless Iran openly opposes the resolution of the Security Council of the United Nation. The poor economy in the United States has made its Secretary of the Treasury (Timothy F. Geithner, who recently visited China) seek China’s support for an increase in sanctions against Iran. If that is the case, “The U.S. Secretary of the Treasury will leave China empty handed. Sanctions are a double-edged sword. For decades the sanctions that Western countries have taken against Iran have not caused the collapse of the Iranian economy. In fact the Western countries have lost a lot of business interests. The Chinese government will absolutely not agree to join the camp that is taking sanctions against Iran unless Iran openly opposes the resolution passed by the U.N. Security Council and moves further and further away on the issue of nuclear weaponry."
Source: China Review News, January 25, 2012
http://gb.chinareviewnews.com/doc/1019/7/5/4/101975417.html?coluid=136&kindid=4710&docid=101975417&mdate=0125000148