SHANGHAI/WASHINGTON – China's foreign ministry on Saturday summoned the US ambassador in Beijing to protest Washington's decision to sanction…
SHANGHAI/WASHINGTON – China's foreign ministry on Saturday summoned the US ambassador in Beijing to protest Washington's decision to sanction a Chinese military agency and its director for purchasing Russian fighter jets and an advanced surface-to-air missile system. Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Zheng Zeguang summoned Ambassador Terry Branstad to lodge "stern representations" and protest the sanctions, the foreign ministry said. Earlier, Chinese defense ministry spokesman Wu Qian said China's decision to buy fighter jets and missile systems from Russia was a normal act of cooperation between sovereign countries, and the United States had "no right to interfere". On Thursday, the US State Department imposed sanctions on China's Equipment Development Department (EED), the branch of the military responsible for weapons procurement, after it engaged in "significant transactions" with Rosoboronexport, Russia's main arms exporter. The sanctions are related to China's purchase of 10 SU-35 combat aircraft in 2017 and S-400 surface-to-air missile system-related equipment in 2018, the State Department said. A senior US State Department official on Saturday said China was the only country that had taken possession of the advanced S-400 surface-to-air missile system, in a breach of a US sanctions law imposed in response to Russia's "malign behavior".
