In response to Washington’s latest round of sanctions targeting Chinese entities over the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the Chinese Embassy in the US expressed firm opposition, as reported by Russian news agency TASS on Thursday.
The US imposed a fresh set of sanctions on numerous companies and individuals, including more than a dozen Chinese entities, alleging their involvement in assisting Moscow to circumvent earlier penalties, according to AP.
These sanctions mark one of the broadest actions taken against Chinese firms thus far in Washington’s sanctions agenda pertaining to Russia, as highlighted by Reuters.
Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in the US, emphasized China’s commitment to safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of its companies.
In response to US allegations accusing Chinese entities of supporting Russia’s economy and defense industry through trade, Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, condemned the US’ claims as “hypocritical and highly irresponsible.”
Wang underscored the irony of the US falsely accusing China of engaging in normal trade and economic exchanges with Russia while concurrently allocating substantial aid to Ukraine. He criticized the US Senate’s recent passage of a $95 billion foreign aid bill, with a significant portion earmarked for Ukraine.
Lü Xiang, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, characterized the US aid to Ukraine and the imposition of fresh sanctions as desperate attempts to salvage its failing Ukraine policy. Lü asserted that these actions are merely a display of the Biden administration’s purported toughness in foreign policy, but ultimately ineffective in addressing the challenges surrounding the Ukraine issue.