China slammed the United States on Monday for sanctioning Chinese companies for alleged involvement with Russia, saying the illegal, unilateral sanctions would be met with countermeasures from China if not revoked.
According to Xinhua, a spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry, Mao Ning, at a press conference, the US actions lack both a legal basis and a UN Security Council mandate.
“They are typical unilateral sanctions and illegal ‘long-arm jurisdiction’ and detrimental to Chinese interests. We deplore and reject this move and have made serious demarches to the US side,” Mao said.
She also said that on the Ukraine issue, China’s position has been objective and fair.
“We have actively promoted peace talks and sought a political solution. The US, however, has been fanning the flame and fueling the fight with more weaponry,” she said.
To date, the United States has provided Ukraine with over $32 billion in military aid, including large amounts of advanced armament. According to the spokesperson, it recently announced another $2 billion tranche of military aid for Ukraine.
Mao claimed that the US has been pouring weapons into one side of the conflict, prolonging the conflict and making peace more elusive, all while spreading misinformation about China supplying weapons to Russia and sanctioning Chinese companies under that guise.
“This is out-and-out hegemonism and double standard, and absolute hypocrisy,” Mao said.
“On the one-year mark of the full escalation of the Ukraine crisis, China issued its position paper on the political settlement of the crisis, whereas the US imposed sanctions on Chinese and other foreign companies. Who is promoting peace and deescalation, and who is fueling the tension and making the world more unstable? The answer is fairly obvious,” the spokesperson said.
She urged the United States to reconsider its actions, consider what is best for the world, and take steps to deescalate the situation and restart peace talks.
“The US also needs to stop spreading disinformation and withdraw the sanctions on Chinese companies,” she said.
“The Chinese side will continue to do what is necessary to firmly safeguard the lawful rights and interests of Chinese companies. We will take resolute countermeasures in response to the US sanctions,” Mao added
