Beijing also warned that US sanctions against Chinese Businesses over alleged attempts to circumvent US export controls to Russia are illegal and endangering global supply chains.
In an April 15 statement, China’s Commerce Ministry said the United States’ action “has no basis in international law and has not been approved by the United Nations Security Council,” reports the Associated Press.
“It is a typical unilateral sanction and a form of ‘long-term jurisdiction’ that seriously violates the legitimate rights and interests of companies and affects the security and stability of the global supply chain. China firmly opposes this,” the statement said. “The US should immediately correct its wrongdoing and end its improper repression of Chinese companies. China will resolutely protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies.”
The United States Department of Commerce added five companies based in mainland China and Hong Kong to its entity list on April 12. The US designation bans the five organizations from trading with American firms without obtaining “an almost unattainable special license,” the AP reported.
The sanctions were imposed on Allparts Trading, Avtex Semiconductor, ETC Electronics, Maxtronic International and STK Electronics.
The US reportedly suspected that the above organizations “have been, are involved, or represent a significant risk of being involved or becoming involved in activities contrary to the interests of national security or the foreign policy of the United States.”
The US Commerce Department also said the five companies were labeled “military end users” because they “attempted to circumvent export controls and purchase or acquire US-origin items in support of Russia’s military and/or defense industrial base.”
