Beijing has expressed discontent after the United States put five Chinese companies and their overseas firms on its ‘entity list’ for allegedly providing services and products to the Russian military.
The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) of the US commerce department over the weekend sanctioned AOOK Technology Ltd, Beijing Ti-Tech Science and Technology Development Co, Beijing Yunze Technology Co Ltd, China HEAD Aerospace Technology Co and Spacety Co Ltd.
This came after the Chinese government had proposed a 12-point peace proposal on Friday, the first anniversary of the Ukraine-Russia war. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he wants to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping to talk about the proposal. But no schedule has been set so far.
“On the first anniversary of the Ukrainian crisis, China has issued a position paper on a political solution to the Ukrainian crisis, while the US has issued sanctions against companies in China and other countries,” Mao Ning, a spokesperson of the Chinese foreign ministry, said Monday. “We can all see clearly who is promoting peace talks and who is putting fuel into the fire.”
Mao said the US has so far provided $32 billion of military aid, plus a newly-announced $2 billion support, to Ukraine, resulting in the prolongation of the war. She said the US keeps spreading false information that China provided weapons to Russia.
She said the US sanctions are common examples of “illegal unilateral sanctions” and long-arm jurisdiction, as they are not based on international laws or the authorization of the United Nations Security Council.
She said the US should reflect on itself, do things to ease the situation in Ukraine, stop its bullying practices and lift sanctions on Chinese companies.
On Saturday, the BIS added three Russian companies, namely Dexias Industrial Products and Trade Limited Company, Innovation and Technologies LLC and Promtekhkomplekt JSC, to its entity list, accusing them of significantly contributing to Russia’s military and involving themselves in activities contrary to US national security.
“As this illegal and unjustified war drags into a second year, Russia is desperately seeking support from wherever it can get it, including pariah states like North Korea and Iran,” said US Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves. “We must remain resolute in our support for Ukraine, coordinated with our partners and vigilant in identifying and stopping Russia’s efforts to evade our controls.”
Among the five sanctioned Chinese companies, AOOK Technology is based in Hong Kong while the remaining four and their associated companies are situated in Beijing, France, Canada, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.
According to its website, AOOK Technology aims to help customers “quickly find the electronic components they need at competitive prices.” It said it is now a distributor for more than 60 industry-leading suppliers all over the world. Its products include integrated circuits, transistors, diodes, capacitors, resistors and inductors.
China, Hong Kong and Turkey replaced the European Union at the top of the list of Russia’s trading partners last year, the Institute of International Finance (IIF), a US-based trade group for the global financial services industry, said in a report on February 1.
The IIF said Russia increased its import of chips, about 40% of which came from China and Hong Kong, last year despite a 16% drop in the country’s overall imports.
According to public information, both Beijing Ti-Tech Science and Technology Development and Beijing Yunze Technology are suppliers of computing hardware and software, electronic products, machines and telecommunication equipment.
China HEAD Aerospace Technology is a parts supplier involved in China’s lunar exploration, Beidou satellite navigation and telecommunication satellite projects.
Spacety Co, also known as Changsha Tianyi Space Science and Technology Research Institute, is among the 15 companies sanctioned by the US Treasury Department on January 26 for allegedly providing satellite imagery of Ukraine to Russia’s mercenary group Wagner.
The China-US tensions have increased since Washington ordered the shooting down of a Chinese “spy balloon” flying in the US’s airspace on February 4.
The Pentagon said on February 7 that the Chinese Ministry of National Defense refused a call from US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin after the incident.
On Sunday, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told NBC that he anticipated US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi would speak at some point in the “not too distant future” although nothing had been scheduled yet.
Read: China’s ironic reticence on land grab in Ukraine
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