Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands during a meeting on October 18, 2023 in Beijing.
Sergei Guneev | Afp | Getty Images
MUNICH, GERMANY (AP) — The U.S. is considering imposing sanctions on Chinese companies it believes are helping Russia fuel its war in Ukraine, members of Congress told CNBC, marking the first direct blame on Beijing since the war began .
Democratic Senator Gerald Connolly, a member of the US House Foreign Relations Committee, said on Saturday that lawmakers were already considering such plans after similar measures were proposed by the European Union last week.
The provisions would represent the first direct penalties against Beijing, although the West has long suspected Beijing of supporting Russia’s military operations.
“China needs to understand that the same types of sanctions that are starting to really take hold in Russia and are hurting Russian productivity, economic performance and quality of life can also be applied to China,” he told CNBC’s Silvia Amaro on Saturday at the Munich Security Conference.
“And frankly, China has a lot more to lose than Russia.”
The U.S. sanctions could inflict severe damage on a Chinese economy already in the doldrums after a slower-than-expected recovery from Covid-19 and turmoil in the real estate sector. But such a move could also harm the USA, given the countries’ mutual trade dependence, and this consideration has led Washington to exercise caution in the past.
Still, Connolly said this would not deter such penalties, which could come “very soon.”
“I hope that just the threat – and the fact that the Europeans are really serious about it, which is a relatively new development – should clear some minds in Beijing, I hope,” he said.
“If far-reaching sanctions were imposed on China, it would be a huge blow. And their economic performance is already weak. “So I would hope that China carefully calculates that supporting Russia’s violence and depravity in Ukraine is imminent.”
Asked whether the US is considering sanctions against China similar to those proposed by the EU, US Senator Ben Cardin said Congress is currently exploring options with the Biden administration.
“That’s an area that we’re looking at, and Congress is working with the administration on how we can enforce the sanctions against Russia, and that requires greater cooperation with other countries.”
CNBC reported last week that the European Union is preparing to impose sanctions on Chinese companies that it believes are helping Russia evade Western penalties intended to curb its war in Ukraine.
The proposals, which would be part of the bloc’s 13th sanctions package since Russia’s full-scale invasion began, could be ready as soon as this month to mark the second anniversary of the war. The EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said on Monday that these plans had taken on new urgency following the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny on Friday.
The plans come amid persistent reports that Beijing is propping up Moscow’s wartime economy.
A CNBC investigation in September found that Chinese companies are playing a critical role in bolstering Russia’s military capabilities, including by trading goods for use on the battlefield in Ukraine. A separate report in January found that China has become the main conduit for the funneling of key Western technology into Russia.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry and the U.S. National Security Council did not immediately respond to CNBC’s requests for comment.
China’s restrictions are a ‘historic mistake’
A US intelligence report said China “has also become an increasingly important pillar of Russia’s war effort, likely supplying Moscow with key technology and dual-use equipment used in Ukraine.”
However, Beijing clearly rejected such accusations, saying its trade with Moscow constituted “normal economic cooperation.”,“And that it doesn’t target any “third party.” China has also previously tried to mediate the war in Ukraine, releasing a 12-point peace plan for the conflict last year that has yet to gain traction.
In a speech at the MSC, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said trade should not be used as a weapon and said any attempt to restrict trade ties with his country would be a “historic mistake.”
“Anyone who tries to exclude China in the name of risk reduction will be making a historic mistake,” he said, pointing to existing restrictions that the US has put in place, for example, to restrict trade in sensitive technologies.
Wang later met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the sidelines of the conference, where he called on Washington to lift existing sanctions against Chinese companies and individuals and said the US should not violate China’s legitimate development rights.
Washington has imposed sanctions on various Chinese companies that it says are collaborating with the Chinese military, although the companies have denied this. US sanctions have also been imposed on individuals and organizations accused of human rights abuses in China’s Xinjiang region.
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2024-02-19 12:55:35
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