BEIJING: China is “strongly dissatisfied” and “firmly oppo–sed” to fresh US sanctions on Chinese companies over ties to Russia’s war in Ukraine, the commerce ministry said on Sunday.

“China urges the US to immediately stop its wrong practices and will take necessary measures to resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies,” a ministry spokesperson said.

Washington on Friday imposed sweeping sanctions against almost 400 individuals and companies it believes are aiding Russia’s war in Ukraine, including several Chinese firms, expanding existing measures to curb Moscow over the invasion of its neighbour.

These include companies in China involved in shipping microelectronics and machine tools to Russia, according to a State Department fact sheet outlining its sanctions.

The sanctions target individuals and companies both inside and outside of Russia “whose products and services enable Russia to sustain its war effort and evade sanctions,” the US Treasury Department said.

The commerce ministry of China on Sunday said the move was “typical unilateral sanctions” that “disrupt international trade order and rules, hinder normal international economic and trade exchanges, and threaten the security and stability of global industrial and supply chains”.

China presents itself as a neutral party in the Ukraine war and says it is not sending lethal assistance to either side, unlike the US and other Western nations.

However, China is a close political and economic ally of Russia, and Nato members have branded Beijing a “decisive enabler” of the war, which it has never condemned.

Published in Dawn, August 26th, 2024