US Sanctions On Chinese Firms ‘Illegal, Unilateral’, Says Beijing

China has called out the U.S on its sanctions on entities over the Ukraine as “illegal and unilateral” on Tuesday. This came in ahead of White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan’s arrival in Beijing for days of high-level talks.

Last week, the U.S imposed sanctions on over 400 individuals and entities for supporting Russia in the war. This included several Chinese companies that America says helped Moscow skirt Western sanctions.

Washington has warned Beijing repeatedly, over its support for Russia. It has already issued hundreds of sanctions over Russia to curb its ability to exploit technologies for military purposes.

China’s special envoy for Eurasian affairs, Li Hui, opposed the sanctions at a briefing for diplomats in Beijing. This came in after the latest round of meetings with officials from Brazil, Indonesia and South Africa.

Li criticised what he described as a particular country using the crisis to shift blame and fabricate a “China responsibility theory,” while threatening nations with normal economic and trade relations with Russia with illegal and unilateral sanctions. Although he did not specifically name the U.S, China’s commerce ministry expressed firm opposition to the sanctions on Sunday.

The latest sanctions target Chinese companies involved in shipping machine tools and microelectronics to Russia. Li condemned these actions as self-serving and disconnected from reality, asserting that the international community would not accept them.

Despite missing a Swiss peace conference in June, China has positioned itself as a proactive mediator in the conflict. On Tuesday, Li expressed hope that more countries would support China’s peace initiatives.

Over a year ago, China outlined general principles for ending the war in a 12-point paper but did not provide specific details. This year, China and Brazil jointly called for peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.