The US on Wednesday, the 1st of May, imposed broad new sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine, targeting Moscow’s evasion of Western measures, including through China, with the US Treasury Department sanctioning nearly 200 targets and the State Department targeting more than 80 companies, in what was one of the broadest sanctions against Chinese companies as part of US sanctions against Russia, reports Reuters.
China’s support for Russia is one of the many issues that threaten the improving relations between the world’s two largest economies.
However, Liu Pengyu, spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington, stressed that the rules on the export of dual-use goods were being respected and said that trade with Russia was in line with World Trade Organisation rules and market principles. The spokesman added that China strongly opposes the “illegal unilateral sanctions” of the US.
On Wednesday, the Treasury Department imposed sanctions on
nearly 60 targets in Azerbaijan, Belgium, China, Russia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Slovakia, accusing them of allowing Russia to “obtain critically needed technology and equipment from abroad”.
This included action against a China-based company which, according to the Ministry of Finance, exported goods such as engines and sensors for the production of drones to a company in Russia. Other technology suppliers based in China and Hong Kong were also targeted.
The State Department also sanctioned four China-based companies accused of supporting Russia’s defence industrial base, including the supply of critical goods to companies in Russia that are subject to US sanctions, as well as companies in Turkey, Kyrgyzstan and Malaysia accused of supplying high-priority goods to Russia.
At Wednesday’s measures, the Treasury also targeted Russia’s acquisition of explosives precursors that Russia needs to continue producing gunpowder, missiles and other explosives, including by sanctioning two China-based suppliers that send these substances to Russia.
As well as the US accused Russia of violating the global ban on chemical weapons
by using the suppressant chloropicrin and other toxic agents against Ukrainian troops in Ukraine “as a method of warfare”.
“The use of such chemicals is not an isolated incident and may have been triggered by Russian forces’ desire to dislodge Ukrainian forces from fortified positions and make tactical gains on the battlefield,” the State Department said in a statement.
It said it was imposing sanctions on three Russian state entities linked to Moscow’s chemical and biological weapons programmes, including a specialised military unit that facilitated the use of chloropicrin against Ukrainian troops.
The State Department expanded sanctions to prevent Russian shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG), a key export.
It also targeted subsidiaries of Russia’s state nuclear energy company Rosatom, as well as 12 companies in the Sibanthracite group, one of Russia’s largest metallurgical coal producers, the State Department said.
Washington also imposed sanctions on Russian air carrier Pobeda, a subsidiary of Russian airline Aeroflot.
The State Department also targeted three individuals in connection with the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
Also read: EU approves new sanctions against Russia
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