WASHINGTON, May 22. /TASS/. Economic ties between China and Russia are consistent with principles of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in the United States Liu Pengyu told TASS on Tuesday as he added that Beijing rejected Washington’s unilateral sanctions.
"China firmly rejects illegal unilateral US sanctions, and we will not certainly agree to be a scapegoat," the Chinese diplomat said, commenting on a remark by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The United States’ top diplomat said earlier that Washington would work to add more Chinese businesses to its blacklist for presumably sending dual-use goods to Russia.
"China’s position on Ukraine has been just and objective," Liu emphasized. "We have worked actively to promote peace talks and a political settlement. The normal trade relations between China and Russia are consistent with WTO norms and market rules. They do not target any third country, nor should they be subject to interference or coercion by a third country. We will defend the legitimate and lawful rights and interests of Chinese companies," he concluded.
Blinken said, testifying at a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations committee on Tuesday, that Washington had already imposed sanctions on more than 100 Chinese entities and would continue to do that. He also said the US would work with its European and other partners to counter China. He admitted that China had not been supplying weapons to Russia though.