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no desire to impose a blockade on the Strait of Hormuz because it relies on it just as much as its biggest [oil] client [China] does," Madani added.
Around 30% of exports of all oil and oil liquids pass through the Hormuz chokepoint running by the Iranian coast and analysts regularly assess whether Iran might be tempted to blockade it as a tactic in its standoff with the US over whether the Islamic Republic should sign a revised agreement with major powers to curtail its role in Middle East affairs.
China, meanwhile, has as part of its first-phase trade deal with the US agreed to greatly up its imports of American energy shipments. Iran may be worried that Beijing’s current surge in buying Iranian oil may be a precursor to it winding down purchases in coming months under US pressure.
The Chinese purchasing pattern follows that of other countries that eventually discontinued imports of Iranian oil.
Iran has lately been stepping up its lobbying of India to stick with Iranian oil despite the US sanctions threat. India was typically talked about as the second biggest importer of Iranian oil prior to the Trump administration’s move to try and reduce exports of Iran’s crude to zero.
9.1.2 ​Automotive sector news
Iranian auto component makers claim to have reached 80% self-sufficiency in providing supplies required by Iran’s automakers, according to Mehr News Agency.
Iran’s automotive industry has struggled in the past year to import parts including catalytic converters due to US sanctions, targeted explicitly at the sector since August 2018.
Secretary of the Iranian Auto Parts Makers Association Maziar Beyglou was quoted as saying that the country would soon reach 90% localisation in producing automotive parts, as producers were continuing to take up the slack from European companies who pulled out under threat of secondary sanctions from the US targeted at commercial parties still involved in trade or investment relationships with Iran.
Several foreign car models, including the Kia Pride, Peugeot 206 and 405 and the Pars GLX (a variant of the 1980s Peugeot 405 model) have mostly been produced with Iranian-made components for several years.
Other assembled models including the Peugeot 207i/+ have suffered from a lack of parts, with manufacturers like largest Iranian auto producer Iran Khodro (IKCO) urging buyers to purchase alternative vehicles.
Iranian car manufacturers have previously much relied on Chinese parts makers filling in local production gaps. However, some Chinese have also felt the pressure of the US sanctions threat. Some have pulled out of Iran, others have gone under the radar.
In October 2019, two​ ​Iranian technology and science startups​ signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to start production of reverse-engineered airbags initially worth IRR490bn ($4.3mn at the official exchange rate, $11.6mn at the free market rate during October.)
Groupe PSA units Peugeot, Citroen and DS Automobiles​, ​along with fellow French car producer Renault​, ​all invested in the Iranian market following the removal of international sanctions against Tehran under the 2015 nuclear deal—but after the US under Donald Trump returned to a sanctions policy against Iran in May 2018 they all withdrew from the country.
40​ IRAN Country Report​ February 2020 www.intellinews.com