China has expressed strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to the latest U.S. sanctions imposed on Chinese companies over their alleged ties to Russia’s war in Ukraine, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said on Sunday.
On Friday, Washington announced new sanctions targeting nearly 400 individuals and companies it believes are supporting Russia’s war efforts in Ukraine. These measures are part of an expanded effort to curb Moscow’s activities related to the invasion of Ukraine.
Among the sanctioned entities are several Chinese companies accused of shipping microelectronics and machine tools to Russia, according to a U.S. State Department fact sheet outlining the sanctions.
In a statement, the U.S. Treasury Department explained that the sanctions aim to target individuals and companies both within and outside of Russia whose products and services enable Russia to sustain its war effort and evade existing sanctions.
China, in response, has criticized the sanctions on its firms, describing the move as “typical unilateral sanctions” that disrupt international trade order and rules, hinder normal global economic and trade exchanges, and threaten the security and stability of global industrial and supply chains. A spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Commerce urged the U.S. to immediately cease what it called “wrong practices” and warned that China would take necessary measures to protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies.
The U.S. has frequently condemned China’s support for Russia, particularly concerning its defense industry, with NATO labeling Beijing a “decisive enabler” of the war—a conflict that China has never explicitly condemned. China, however, presents itself as a neutral party and has consistently denied providing lethal assistance to either side of the conflict, in contrast to the United States and other Western nations.
Despite its stance, China remains a close political and economic ally of Russia. The ongoing competition between the U.S. and China is crucial, as it may influence whether the world becomes increasingly polarized. China’s growing economy poses a challenge to U.S. dominance, and it is not surprising that the U.S. is seeking to curb China’s influence through various measures. While there is no concrete evidence that China is supplying weapons to Russia, its continued trade with Russia, at a time when many countries have imposed sanctions on Moscow, is seen as a factor helping to sustain Russia amid the war.
