US' unilateral sanctions about leveraging engineered volatility for hegemonic profit: China Daily editorial

When international rules constrain the actions of the United States, they are usually dismissed or bypassed. But when they can be invoked against other countries, they suddenly become indispensable. Extraterritorial sanctions, secondary sanctions and restrictions on third-country companies have become routine instruments of US foreign policy.

The irony is that these tactics may ultimately weaken the very system they seek to preserve. By encouraging countries to diversify payment systems, reduce reliance on the dollar and strengthen alternative economic partnerships, unilateral sanctions are accelerating the emergence of a more multipolar global economy. The US may succeed in delaying that transition, but every new round of sanctions makes it harder to claim that principle, rather than profit, guides its policy.

The latest demonstration of that came on Wednesday, when the US State Department announced sanctions on a group of Chinese mainland and Hong Kong shipping companies for allegedly transporting Iranian crude oil to China and the United Arab Emirates.

Let us dispense with the fiction that this is primarily about nonproliferation or Israeli security. The Donald Trump administration has been unusually candid about its real priorities. Asked on Monday where the $13 billion in Venezuelan oil revenue seized by Washington had gone, US President Donald Trump first replied, "It goes toward running the country." Pressed further, he admitted, "It can go to the military. Congress has to approve it."

The Financial Times reported last week that six months after Venezuela's political upheaval and two devastating earthquakes, the money remains unaccounted for, reportedly held in an offshore Qatari account. Trump was even more revealing aboard Air Force One: "Venezuela, we paid for that war many times over. And that'll happen with Iran also. We paid for the war many times over."

The implication was unmistakable. Wars are expected to finance themselves. Oil revenues cover the costs of military operations and generate additional returns. Iran's nuclear program and its alleged threat to Israel become moral justifications for what is fundamentally a contest over energy, finance and geopolitical leverage. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described Tuesday's White House meeting with Trump as a "full partnership" to ensure Iran never acquires nuclear weapons "and other goals as well". Those "other goals" deserve at least as much scrutiny as the nuclear issue itself.

The Chinese companies targeted by the latest US sanctions are portrayed as part of Iran's so-called "shadow fleet". Yet the longest shadow is cast by Washington's own extraterritorial sanctions. Such unilateral measures are unlawful as they lack authorization from the United Nations Security Council.

In early May, China prohibited domestic organizations and individuals from recognizing or complying with the US' Iran-related sanctions imposed on five Chinese petrochemical companies. The Ministry of Commerce rightly pointed out that Washington was unlawfully restricting normal commercial activities between Chinese enterprises and third countries, violating international law and the basic norms governing international relations. The measures were adopted under China's rules on counteracting unjustified extraterritorial application of foreign legislation and other measures.

China possesses sufficient legal and economic tools to protect the legitimate interests of its companies. If Washington continues to weaponize finance and energy for geopolitical advantage, Beijing has every reason to respond with further legal and economic countermeasures.

The broader objective extends well beyond Iran. Energy security and financial power remain inseparable pillars of US hegemony. By maintaining dominance over the international energy system, Washington protects the petrodollar, limits alternatives to dollar-based settlements and constrains efforts by emerging economies to build more independent financial arrangements.

Every escalation reinforces the strategic importance of US influence over global energy flows and the dollar-denominated oil trade. Oil prices surged after renewed military tensions involving Iran, while concerns over the Strait of Hormuz once again rattled global markets. This has become a recurring pattern. Washington tightens sanctions to squeeze supplies, eases pressure when markets require stability, then restores restrictions as negotiations falter. The cycle preserves US influence over energy markets while reinforcing the central role of the dollar in global oil transactions. Geopolitical volatility has become an instrument of financial leverage for the US.