Media Wire

China criticizes proposed US sanctions over Ukraine war

China responded to reports that Washington is planning to impose “broad” sanctions on the country, vowing to defend Chinese businesses from measures intended to target firms for allegedly helping Russia in its war on Ukraine.

The proposed sanctions were discussed on Monday by CNBC, which interviewed a number of Congress members about the plans. Democrat Gerald Connolly, who sits on the House Committee on Foreign Relations, claimed “the very threat” of sanctions from the US and potentially the EU “ought to clarify some thinking in Beijing”.

However, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning stated on Tuesday that Beijing rejects unilateral economic restrictions as a matter of principle and will defend the interests of its businesses.

”China has the right to conduct normal cooperation with countries around the world,” Mao said during a daily briefing, adding, “We have always opposed unilateral sanctions and ‘long-arm jurisdiction’ that have no basis in international law and are not authorized by the UN Security Council.”

She dismissed Washington’s suggestion that Chinese businesses were helping Russia with its military operation against Ukraine. Beijing has been impartial on the conflict and has been promoting a peaceful resolution, Mao said.

”We have not watched from afar, let alone taken advantage” of the situation, she added.

The US previously targeted specific Chinese firms and individuals, which it accused of providing assistance for Moscow’s military campaign in various ways. The new round of sanctions will reportedly be the first to directly hit the government in Beijing.

“If broad sanctions were applied to China, it would really hit home,” Connolly told CNBC. He claimed that “China has a lot more to lose than Russia” from such restrictions.

Russia became the world’s most sanctioned nation when the US and its allies ramped up pressure on Moscow in relation to the Ukraine crisis. Contrary to Western predictions, the measures have failed to ruin the Russian economy.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi discussed the issue of unilateral restrictions and the risks of possible Western disengagement from China with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference last week, his department said.

The minister emphasized that the attempts to “build ‘a small yard with high fences’ to ‘decouple from China’ will ultimately backfire on the US itself”, it stated. Wang urged his American counterpart to “lift its illegal unilateral sanctions” on Chinese firms.

IFP Media Wire

Reports and views published in the Media Wire section have been retrieved from other news agencies and websites, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Iran Front Page (IFP) news website. The IFP may change the headlines of the reports in a bid to make them compatible with its own style of covering Iran News, and does not make any changes to the content. The source and URL of all reports and news stories are mentioned at the bottom of each article.

Recent Posts

Iranian journalist killed by husband amid domestic dispute

Mansoureh Ghadiri Javid, a reporter with research division of IRNA, Islamic Republic News Agency, was…

2 hours ago

Pictures: Traditional ceremony in Iran’s Meymand to give thanks for blessings, rainfall and unity

The annual “Digjush” ceremony, a 250-year-old tradition held in Gonak village of Meymand, in Iran's…

5 hours ago

Iran’s deputy health minister warns of imminent population crisis

Iran’s Deputy Health Minister, has issued a stark warning about the country’s declining birth rate…

5 hours ago

US freezes delivery of bulldozers to Israel over home demolitions in Gaza

The United States has frozen the delivery of 130 bulldozers to Israel amid home demolitions…

5 hours ago

Trump’s peace plan for Ukraine may include deploying European forces to buffer zone: Report

US President-elect Donald Trump may call on British and European Union troops to enforce a…

5 hours ago

Former diplomat: Iran-Israel tensions must be contained for larger agreement with US

As Donald Trump prepares to return to the White House, a former diplomat and senior…

6 hours ago