China slams new US sanctions against Russia
Photo: Xi Jinping (Getty Images)
China has spoken out against new US sanctions imposed on Rosneft and Lukoil. Beijing said that such restrictions have no basis in international law and were not approved by the UN Security Council, The Guardian reports.
Today, China said it opposes the recent sanctions imposed by the US on Russia's two largest oil companies over Russia's war against Ukraine.
China, one of Russia's main trading partners, has said it takes a neutral position on the war and has refrained from condemning Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Responding to a question about the new US sanctions at a daily press conference in Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said "China consistently opposes unilateral sanctions that have no basis in international law and are not authorised by the UN security council".
Responding to another question about US President Donald Trump's statement that Chinese President Xi Jinping could have "big influence" on Putin in efforts to end the war, Guo said that "dialogue and negotiations are the only feasible way out of the Ukraine crisis".
At the same press conference, Guo criticized the sanctions against Russia agreed on Wednesday by the EU, which affect Chinese companies in particular, saying that Beijing was "strongly dissatisfied."
"China is neither the creator of the Ukraine crisis nor a party to it. The European side is in no position to make irresponsible remarks about the normal exchanges and cooperation between Chinese and Russian enterprises," he added.
Guo called on Brussels to "stop making an issue out of China," promising that Beijing would "will take all necessary measures to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests."
US sanctions against Russia
The US has imposed tough sanctions on Russian oil companies Rosneft and Lukoil.
After the sanctions were imposed, Brent crude oil futures rose by 5%.
At the same time, according to the IMF, the global energy sector is experiencing a period of falling prices. The main reasons are oversupply and uncertainty in trade.
Against this backdrop, India will almost completely abandon Russian oil after the US sanctions.
Russian oil flows to India, which rose sharply after Russia invaded Ukraine, will soon be reduced to almost zero.
