China has warned the U. S. to withdraw sanctions on its military or face consequences. The U. S. imposed the sanctions on Thursday over China…
China has warned the U. S. to withdraw sanctions on its military or face consequences. The U. S. imposed the sanctions on Thursday over China’s purchase of Russian fighter jets and surface-to-air missile equipment.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said China „is strongly outraged by this unreasonable action by the U. S. We strongly urge the U. S. to immediately correct its mistakes and revoke the so-called sanctions. Otherwise, it must take all the consequences.“
Russia sold Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets and a S-400 surface-to-air missile system to China, which has not joined U. S. sanctions against Russia for its actions in Ukraine and interference in the U. S. political system.
On Thursday Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in consultation with Treasury Secretary Stephen Mnuchin, imposed sanctions on the Chinese military’s Equipment Development Department, which is responsible for improving military technology, and its head, Li Shangfu, and added them to a list of people whose assets in the U. S. are frozen. Americans are also „generally prohibited“ from doing business with them.
The U. S. says China’s purchase of the weapons from Russia violated a 2017 law, the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act.
Russia has criticized the U. S. sanctions on China. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said the U. S. was „thoughtlessly undermining“ global stability, and warned it against „playing with fire.“
The sale of equipment follows massive military exercises in Russia which involved contingents from China and Mongolia. Trade between China and Russia, which share a border to China’s north, has also increased in recent years, climbing to $87 billion in 2017, from $64.2 billion in 2015, according to Chinese and Russian state media .
Russian President Vladimir Putin said this week he expects trade between the two countries to top $100 billion in 2018.
