China promises payback for UK sanctions

The latest British restrictions on Chinese firms have no basis in international law, Beijing has said

The decision by the UK to blacklist Chinese companies as part of a new round of sanctions against Russia won’t be left without a response, the Chinese embassy in London has said.

On Thursday, Britain announced more curbs designed to hurt Moscow, saying that these mark the second anniversary of the start of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The latest sanctions target 50 entities and individuals, most of them from Russia but with three Chinese firms also on the list.

The restrictions on the Chinese companies by the UK are “unilateral acts that have no basis in international law, and we firmly oppose them,” Beijing’s diplomatic mission said in a statement later on the day.

The Chinese authorities are going to take the necessary steps to “resolutely safeguard” the legitimate interests of the country’s businesses, it added.

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“We would like to inform the British side that any act that undermines China’s interests will be resolutely countered by the Chinese side,” the embassy warned.

As for the conflict in Ukraine, Beijing “has always adhered to an objective and fair position… and has been actively committed to promoting peace talks” between Moscow and Kiev, it stressed.

The Chinese companies sanctioned by London are Finder Technology LTD and JUHANG Aviation Technology Co, which the UK claims have been supplying restricted electronics to Russia, and Beijing Micropilot Flight Control Systems Co, which produces engines for drones.

It’s not the first time that the UK is blacklisting Chinese firms. Three companies from the country were also included in the previous British sanctions package targeting Russia, announced in early December. Back then, the Chinese embassy called on London to “immediately rectify its wrongdoing and revoke sanctions against Chinese companies.”

On Friday, the EU also announced its fresh set of punitive measures against Moscow on the second anniversary of the outbreak of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The bloc’s 13th sanctions package, which targets 106 individuals and 88 entities, sees Brussels blacklisting three Chinese and one Indian firms for the first time.

In his interview with American journalist Tucker Carlson earlier this month, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin reiterated that the sanctions deployed by the West “do not work.”

READ MORE: EU imposes new sanctions on Russia

“The largest number of sanctions in the world which are… applied against Russia. And we have become Europe’s first economy during this time,” Putin stressed