Earlier quoted context omitted.
> But on general grounds, why a Chinese company should comply with sanctions between US and Iran? In general, they don't have to. Only to the extent they want to continue doing business with the US do they have to comply.
Not that easy, as most international trade is denominated in USD, and nominally flows through the US, and makes it subject to US jurisdiction. Which is one reason there is a growing push for denominating trade in EUR or CNY instead.
This is obviously true in the case of cash transactions which consist of the physical transfer of small green pieces of paper in places outside the US.
It is also true of bank transactions, for example the vast Eurodollar market which has been in existence since the 1950s. If a non-US bank offers USD-denominated accounts and transfers funds from one of those accounts to another, this can and does happen entirely outside US jurisdiction.