The Chinese Foreign Ministry sharply criticised a new package of U.S. sanctions targeting the Russian war economy, including Chinese companies accused of aiding the invasion of Ukraine.
“We call on the United States (U.S.) to stop the indiscriminate, illegal, unilateral sanctions,’’ said Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian in Beijing on Thursday.
She said that China was neither a party nor the cause of the Ukraine crisis and that Beijing would act to protect the rights of Chinese companies and citizens.
China has forged strong ties with Russia since President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Washington said that while Beijing may not directly provide weapons for Moscow’s campaign, it has become a critical lifeline for Russia’s sanctioned economy and its military.
On Wednesday, a day before G7 leaders gathered in southern Italy to discuss Ukraine, the Biden administration announced it was imposing 300 new Russia-related sanctions.
Among them were multiple Chinese and Hong Kong-based companies, with the U.S. alleging some of them sent dual-use items that could be used in Russian military equipment?
In March, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned what they cast as increasingly aggressive US behaviour and pledged to deepen their countries’ already close defence and military ties.
In a clear snub to Washington, whose top diplomat flew into China to try to persuade Beijing to scale back its relationship with Moscow, Xi signalled Beijing and Moscow saw eye to eye on a range of important issues, including on Ukraine, and would resist Western pressure to downgrade their ties.
“The China-Russia relationship today is hard-earned, and the two sides need to cherish and nurture it,” Xi told Putin.
“China is willing to … jointly achieve the development and rejuvenation of our respective countries, and work together to uphold fairness and justice in the world.”
A joint statement spoke of concerns about what were described as US efforts to violate the strategic nuclear balance, about global US missile defence that threatened Russia and China, and about US plans for high-precision non-nuclear weapons.
Putin, on his first overseas trip since being inaugurated this month for a new presidential term, described Moscow and Beijing’s co-operation in world affairs as one of the main stabilising factors in the international arena.
“Together we are defending the principles of justice and a democratic world order reflecting multipolar realities and based on international law,” Putin told Xi.
Putin’s visit comes weeks after US secretary of state Antony Blinken flew into China to raise concerns about what he said was China’s support for Russia’s military and a day after he said Washington would continue to impose sanctions on Chinese companies supplying Russia’s defence sector.
Blinken’s Chinese trip appears to have been an unsuccessful attempt to undermine a “no limits” partnership proclaimed when Putin visited Beijing in February 2022, just days before he sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine triggering the deadliest land war in Europe since World War 2.