A commentary carried by the People's Daily, a leading newspaper in China, Wednesday said US sanctions on third parties that purchase oil from Iran are "political tricks" intended to "kidnap the world."

The commentary said the US will bring "risks and chaos" for the economic activities of other countries by forcing them to cut purchases of Iranian oil.

An act signed by US President Barack Obama late last year stated that foreign financial institutions whose governments continue to purchase Iranian crude oil as of June 28 will be denied access to the US financial market.

The move was aimed at curbing Iran's nuclear program. Western countries have accused Iran of using the program to develop weapons, while Iran has claimed that it has only peaceful ends in mind.

Although China was granted a 180-day exception to the act at the last minute for having "significantly reduced" purchases of oil from Iran, the US practice of extending self-made rules to other countries is an "act of kidnapping," according to the commentary.

The commentary said the US has "long been offended" by the nuclear program in Iran and is using the sanctions to coerce other countries to follow the will of the US

"The US has long regarded itself as a spokesperson and arbitrator for the whole world, judging other countries and imposing unilateral sanctions for its own benefit," said the commentary.

Iran has an oil production capacity of 4 million barrels per day, accounting for about 5 percent of the world's total output.

US officials say Iran's oil exports have declined to 1.5 million barrels a day from 2.5 million barrels last year because of the sanctions.

China is Iran's third-largest oil importer, with a total of 27 million tonnes of the resource imported from the country in 2011.