BEIJING, June 11 Third countries should not undermine trade and economic ties between Beijing and Moscow, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian.
“China will never accept any illegal unilateral sanctions, and normal trade and economic cooperation between China and Russia should not be disrupted or interfered with by any third parties,” he said at a briefing.
Lin Jian stressed that Beijing will take measures to protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies.
As Reuters reported late last week, G7 countries may issue a “stern warning” small Chinese banks, which allegedly help Moscow circumvent sanctions.
In addition, according to media reports, at the G7 summit on June 13-15 in Italy, country leaders will discuss “the threat posed by actively developing trade Russia and China.»
Presumably, official statements regarding Chinese banks will follow. At the same time, the United States and the G7 countries most likely will not impose sanctions against them during the summit. In addition, the “warning” will not affect large Chinese credit institutions.
According to White House officials, Washington and its partners are ready to apply secondary restrictive measures against banks and financial institutions in order to “reduce Russia's ability to circumvent Western sanctions.»
As Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, in turn, said, Moscow views Washington’s plans to interfere with trade with Beijing as interference in the relations of sovereign countries. She added that threats of sanctions will not force Russia to abandon mutually beneficial cooperation with China.
During Vladimir Putin’s state visit to China, the parties agreed to increase trade and optimize its structure. As the first deputy head of the Federal Customs Service Ruslan Davydov emphasized, in January-April its volumes increased by seven percent in annual terms.