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Beijing hits out at Washington’s threat against Chinese firms to ‘comply with sanctions’

On Tuesday, the US Secretary of Commerce said that China would have to face tough measures from the US if it failed to comply with the Russia-targeted sanctions

BEIJING, March 9. /TASS/. Beijing pledged to take decisive measures if Western countries put pressure on Chinese companies over sanctions imposed on Russia, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Zhao Lijian said at a briefing on Wednesday.

"Sanctions have never been an effective way to solve problems. China strongly opposes all unilateral US sanctions and the US use of the principle of extraterritoriality. When considering the Ukraine issue and relations with Russia, the US should strictly take China’s concern into account and prevent the infringement of China’s rights and interests," he pointed out, commenting on statements by US officials. "China will take all the necessary measures to resolutely protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese entities and individuals," the diplomat vowed.

Speaking to the New York Times on Tuesday, US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said that China would have to face tough measures from the US if it failed to comply with the Russia-targeted sanctions. Russia "is certainly going to be courting other countries to do an end run around our sanctions and export controls," she said. "But if the United States were to find that a company like the Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, in Shanghai, was selling its chips to Russia, ‘we could essentially shut SMIC down because we prevent them from using our equipment and our software’," the newspaper wrote, citing Raimondo. According to her, "it would be devastating to China’s ability to produce these chips."