What specific action did China's financial regulator take regarding loans to U.S.-sanctioned refiners, and which refinery was explicitly named?

China's National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA) issued verbal guidance advising the country's largest banks to temporarily suspend new yuan-denominated loans to five refineries sanctioned by the U.S. over ties to Iranian oil — notably including Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Refinery, China’s largest private refiner — while explicitly instructing banks not to call in existing credit.

How does China's regulatory response to U.S. sanctions on refiners contrast with its official trade policy stance announced days later?

The NFRA’s directive — issued before May 1 — instructed banks to pause new lending to U.S.-sanctioned refiners, reflecting a de facto compliance measure; this stands in direct contrast to the Ministry of Commerce’s May 2 notice urging Chinese firms to disregard U.S. sanctions altogether, marking the first implementation of China’s 2021 anti-foreign-sanctions blocking measures designed to shield domestic entities from what it views as unwarranted foreign intervention.

China Asks Banks to Pause New Loans to US-Sanctioned Refiners, Bloomberg Reports

May 6, 2026

China's financial regulator instructed banks to halt new loans to five U.S.-sanctioned refineries linked to Iranian oil, including Hengli Petrochemical. The move highlights growing tensions between Chinese regulators and U.S. sanctions on the energy sector.

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China Asks Banks to Pause New Loans to US-Sanctioned Refiners

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