China Oil Imports From Iran Unchanged -China Development Bank Chief

Despite international pressure on China to cut its oil imports from Iran , imports from that country remain unchanged, China Development Bank Chairman Chen Yuan said Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Mr. Chen also said that member states in the group are actively looking to create a regional central bank that would promote the use of local currencies to reduce their dependence on the U.S. dollar in their trade.

" China has always imported oil from Iran and continues to do so now," Mr. Chen told reporters. "There's no difference now compared to before."

The U.S. and the European Union are planning to tighten sanctions on Iran 's oil exports and have been ratcheting up the pressure to convince the Middle East country to abandon its controversial nuclear program. Iran says its intentions are peaceful.

Iran was China 's third largest supplier of imported oil last year, shipping about 557,000 barrels a day, according to Chinese customs data. China was the largest buyer of Iranian crude oil in the first half of 2011, accounting for 22% of Iran 's crude exports, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Mr. Chen declined to comment on long-stalled Sino-Russian gas talks, which could deliver 70 billion cubic meters of gas a year to China but have been stalled over pricing issues.

But he noted that cooperation with Russia is crucial for the bank, which plays a major role in financing China 's infrastructure projects domestically and overseas.

He added that the bank had a lending exposure of $38.5 billion to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization countries with some $28.6 billion in loans outstanding to Russia as of March.

"We will see more cooperation with [ Russia 's] Far Eastern region in the future," he said.

China has been eager to create a bigger role for the yuan on the world stage, and it has been widely believed to be pushing for a regional central bank that might advance that objective. But that plan faces major hurdles, particularly how much sovereignty would have to be surrendered by member countries.

Mr. Chen also said the bank sees growing demand for use of the yuan in the region, though its use in lending so far has been limited.

"China Development Bank has already extended yuan-denominated loans to Central Asian countries, but for very small amounts," he said.

He added that more currency swaps between the region's central banks would help reach that objective.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization groups Russia , China , Kazakhstan , Kyrgyzstan , Tajikistan and Uzbekistan . Iran holds observer status, as do India , Pakistan and Mongolia .