Iran Nuclear Deal Collapse to Affect Economic Cooperation – Beijing

BEIJING (Sputnik) – Non-compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), known as the Iran nuclear deal, will affect economic cooperation between the parties to the agreement, Zhang Hanhui, director-general of the Chinese Foreign Ministry's Department of European-Central Asian Affairs, said on Monday.

"Given the current situation, if the JCPOA is not further implemented, the normal economic cooperation between the relevant countries will be affected," Zhang said.

The official pointed out that China hoped for preserving the deal and therefore, maintained close contacts with Russia and other European countries on the issue.

READ MORE: 'EU's Stance Will Be Decisive': How Iran Sanctions Affect German Banks

"We hope for close consultations between China and Iran based on compliance with the JCPOA, further development of cooperation between the countries as well as business circles of both states," Zhang added.

The statement has been made in the wake of the decision made by US President Donald Trump on the US withdrawal from the JCPOA, which requires Tehran to maintain a peaceful nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. Along with the United States and Iran, the European Union, Russia, China, Germany, France and the United Kingdom are also parties to the deal.

The US move has been criticized by other parties to the JCPOA, with the European Commission launching a process of reactivation of the 1996 law that allows companies to ignore rulings of any courts outside the European Union and to recover the damages caused by sanctions "from the natural or legal person or any other entity causing the damages."