Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang has warned his German counterpart, Annalena Baerbock, that Beijing will react strongly to the European Union’s (EU) attempts to impose sanctions on Chinese companies, writes Politico.
Baerbock dismissed the warning, saying it was China’s responsibility to ensure that its companies did not supply Russia with weapons or so-called dual-use products that could be used for civilian purposes to further Moscow’s aggression.
Qin told the media at a press conference at the German Foreign Ministry in Berlin: “On exports of dual-use goods, we proceed according to regulations and laws … China and Russian enterprises have normal exchanges and cooperation, which should not be affected.” He added that China strongly opposes the actions of certain countries and blocs of countries using their legislation to impose unilateral sanctions against other countries, including China.
In the event that China is affected by any restrictions, it will react accordingly.
The Chinese foreign minister’s remarks follow after the European Commission (EC) added several Chinese companies to the upcoming draft of the 11th sanctions package.
Baerbock emphasized that it is important that EU sanctions are not circumvented, and the arrival of products in Russia that would allow the continued production of weapons for warfare in Ukraine could create a critical situation.
The German Foreign Minister held an intense press conference with Qin in Beijing in April, and now she repeated her request to China to respect human rights and to put pressure on Russia to withdraw its troops from Ukraine.
Relations between China and Germany are tense, and on Monday, the 8th of May, it became known that Beijing canceled the planned visit of German Finance Minister Christian Lindner to China at the last minute. There have been rumors that the visit was canceled due to the position of the minister’s party on the issue of China-Taiwan relations. Qin, however, pointed out that the visit was canceled due to an unexpected change of plans of the Chinese Finance Minister, and added that one should not draw wrong conclusions.
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