Ukraine war: US takes aim at Chinese firms in wave of sanctions targeting Russia
- 20 companies based in mainland China and Hong Kong were among hundreds of entities hit by the wide-ranging move
- The sanctions follow warnings by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen over Chinese support for Russia’s military
The US government imposed sanctions on 20 Hong Kong and mainland Chinese companies on Wednesday for alleged roles in the development of Russia’s industrial base and military, along with dozens of other businesses and individuals based in Russia, Turkey and other countries.
In addition to alleged circumvention of US sanctions on Russia, the new sanctions by the departments of State and Treasury target Hong Kong and mainland Chinese firms for supporting the development of Russian energy production and advanced manufacturing.
“Treasury has consistently warned that companies will face significant consequences for providing material support for Russia’s war, and the US is imposing them today,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said. The move “will further disrupt and degrade Russia’s war efforts by going after its military industrial base and the evasion networks that help supply it”.
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Tulun International Holding Limited of Hong Kong was sanctioned by Yellen’s department for allegedly representing itself “as the end-user of, but ultimately resold, Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) boards that were installed in Russian one-way attack unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) used by Russian military forces to attack Ukrainian targets”.
CFU Shipping Company Limited, another Hong Kong-based company, was accused in the State Department’s sanctions list of operating a heavy load carrier that delivered the final module for a production train at Russian liquefied natural gas terminal Arctic LNG 2, located near the Arctic Ocean.
The US sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 last month as part of its efforts to curb revenues that help to support Russia’s military.
CFU Shipping was one among more than 80 entities and individuals sanctioned by the State Department “including those engaged in: development of Russia’s future energy, metals, and mining production and export capacity; sanctions evasion and circumvention; and furthering Russia’s ability to wage its war against Ukraine”.
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Treasury announced sanctions on nearly 200 companies and other entities from Azerbaijan, Belgium, the United Arab Emirates and Slovakia, in addition to Hong Kong and mainland China.
During a discussion last month with Stephen Orlins, president of the New York-based National Committee on US-China Relations, Campbell said that Beijing had decided “to provide the necessary wherewithal in terms of machine tools, joint-use capabilities, a whole variety of capacities to basically allow Russia to retool”.
Many of the mainland Chinese companies were targeted in the sanctions announced Wednesday for alleged shipments of components used by the Russian military.
These companies included Juhang Aviation Technology Shenzhen Company Limited, which Treasury accused of sending 94 shipments of export-controlled items with UAV and other military applications to sanctioned Russian companies in 2022 and 2023.
The department also said that Wuhan Tongsheng Technology Company Limited had “made numerous shipments of high-priority technology to Russia and, in October 2023, attended a state security technology exposition in Moscow that was hosted with the support of the Russian Ministry of Defence”.
Asked about the US government accusations, Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for Beijing’s embassy in Washington said the Chinese government “oversees the export of dual-use articles in accordance with the laws and regulations”.
“China is neither the one that created the conflict [in Ukraine] nor a party to it, and has never provided lethal weapons or equipment to any party.,” Liu said. “We never fan the flames or seek selfish gains, and we will certainly not accept being the scapegoat.
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“Normal trade and economic interactions between China and Russia are in line with WTO rules and market principles,” he added “They do not target any third party and should not come under interference or coercion from any third party. We will uphold the legitimate and lawful rights and interests of Chinese companies.”
Still, the State Department suggested in its announcement that more measures aimed at cutting Russia’s trade with China and other countries could be on the horizon.
“The United States will continue to use the tools at its disposal to disrupt support for Russia’s military-industrial base and curtail Russia’s use of the international financial system to further its war against Ukraine,” it said.
The department also targeted three individuals who have served in the Russian government in connection to the death of Alexei Navalny, the opposition leader and critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Navalny died in February in a Russian Arctic prison.
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