China says to ignore US sanctions even as Trump visit nears

China ordered companies to ignore US sanctions against five oil refiners accused of buying Iranian crude, an unprecedented pushback against American financial measures less than two weeks before a presidential summit. The US action “violates international law and the basic norms of international relations”, China’s Ministry of Commerce said on Saturday. The sanctions cover a refinery in Dalian owned by Shanghai-listed Hengli Petrochemical, along with four independent “teapot” refineries –...