OREANDA-NEWS. May 15, 2013. Chinese trading officials told Reuters on Friday that the Beijing-based company would keep importing around 230,000 barrels per day of Iranian crude in 2013.

The sources added that Zhenrong is also looking into importing Iranian gas condensate from the giant offshore South Pars Gas Field in the Persian Gulf.

"Since Zhenrong is already on the [US] blacklist, it fears no more political pressure [to cut Iran oil imports]," said a senior Chinese oil trader who asked not to be named.

The ultimate buyer of Zhenrong's Iranian crude supply is China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (Sinopec).

China is Iran's top trade partner; and Beijing has publicly criticized the US-led sanctions against Tehran over its nuclear energy program.

China says it has to buy Iranian crude to meet its energy needs.

"We believe the crude oil trade between Iran and China is completely legal and fair. We have already made clear our position to the US side on this," Foreign Ministry Spokesman Liu Weimin said in June.

At the beginning of 2012, the United States and the European Union (EU) imposed new sanctions on Iran’s oil and financial sectors.

On October 15, the EU foreign ministers agreed on another round of sanctions against Iran.

The illegal US-engineered sanctions have been imposed based on the unfounded accusation that Iran is pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program.

Iran rejects the allegation, arguing that as a committed signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), it has the right to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

In addition, the IAEA has conducted numerous inspections of Iran's nuclear facilities but has never found any evidence showing that Iran's civilian nuclear program has been diverted toward military objectives