China Opposes “Unilateral” Sanctions Imposed by USA

China said it was “extremely dissatisfied” and “strongly opposed” to new sanctions imposed by the United States on Chinese companies because of their alleged ties to Russian firms. A spokesman for China’s Ministry of Commerce said on Sunday, August 25: “China calls on the United States to immediately stop its bad practices and take necessary measures to protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies.”

According to Beijing, the US actions “are a typical example of unilateral sanctions” and violate the international trade order and impede normal economic exchanges. The Chinese government, the spokesman emphasized, “will take all necessary measures to protect the legitimate rights of its companies.”

The US Commerce Department on Friday added 105 companies, including 42 Chinese companies, to the list of entities subject to trade restrictions for allegedly supporting Russian Federation’s defense industry and military.

Beijing called on Washington to “stop abusing unilateral sanctions, extended jurisdiction, and once and for all stop trying to defame and slander China,” whose policy toward the USA “has always been consistent and based on the three principles proposed by President Xi Jinping: from mutual respect, to peaceful coexistence and mutually beneficial cooperation.” Instead of consolidating “principles developed by decades of bilateral relations between China and the USA, which are also lessons learned from historic great power conflicts and which represent the direction in which both China and the United States should work,” the Washington administration has consistently imposed “unreasonable measures” against China, including tariffs, export controls, investment reviews, and unilateral sanctions that have “seriously undermined the legitimate rights and interests” of the world’s second-largest economy. Beijing demands that the United States stop “politicizing and instead start securitizing economic and trade issues.”

Amid political and economic tensions between China and the USA, Bank of China (BOC) President Liu Jin has resigned “for personal reasons.” A BOC statement said that “the board immediately approved the appointment of Ge Haijiao as interim president.”

Reuters news agency wrote on Sunday: “Liu was named as president of the bank in April 2021. He previously served as president of China Everbright Bank, from January 2020 to March 2021.” According to Reuters, “Liu’s departure follows that of former BOC Chairman Liu Liange, who stepped down in March 2023 and was placed under investigation, as China intensified its anti-corruption campaign.”