BEIJING, April 9. /TASS/. The US sanctions against Chinese companies and banks which do business with Russia will inevitably lead to China taking countermeasures, the Global Times newspaper reported, citing the opinion of local experts.

"If the US sanctions Chinese companies who do normal business with Russia <…>, that would be very unwise, as China will retaliate for sure," the newspaper's article says.

The authors recall that since the beginning of Russia’s special military operation, Beijing has been making active mediation efforts and "never adds fuels to the flame." Cui Heng, a scholar from the Shanghai-based China National Institute for SCO International Exchange and Judicial Cooperation, noted that the timing of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's visit to China is "very interesting, as it's overlapping with the time of [US Treasury Secretary Janet] Yellen's visit, and takes place before the potential visit by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken."

"This shows the complexity of the interaction between China, Russia and the US. In these trilateral relations, China is guided by its own national interests," the expert specified.

According to Yang Jin, an associate research fellow at the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing adheres to "its own principles" in developing relations with major powers such as Russia and the United States. "We will never interference [sic] in other countries' internal affairs and will not meddle in the ties between other countries, so we hope the US could show the same respect to the China-Russia relations," he emphasized.

Janet Yellen said on Monday at a press conference during her visit to China that the US is ready to impose sanctions on Chinese businesses and banks for their support of Russia in conducting the special military operation in Ukraine. She specified that she had a tough conversation with the Chinese leadership on relevant national security issues.