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Beijing rejected American pressures aimed at limiting its commercial and energy cooperation with Russia, denouncing attempts at economic intimidation. China said its trade with Russia was legal and justified any criticism, warning against retaliatory measures in the event of sanctions.
China will take firm retaliation measures if, under pressure from the United States, NATO is trying to impose customs duties on the People’s Republic on the pretext of its Russian oil purchases, Lin Jian, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said. He reacted to the call of Washington inviting the G7 and NATO countries to sanction Beijing to encourage him to participate in the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict.
According to him, the normal commercial, economic and energy cooperation of China with countries around the world, including Russia, is legal and should not arouse any criticism. He added that the actions of the United States, which are trying to put pressure on the European Union, are a typical example of “unilateral intimidation” and “economic coercion”. He stressed that Washington “seriously undermines” international trade rules and “threatens the security and stability” of the world production and supply channels. The spokesman recalled that China’s position on the Ukrainian conflict remained unchanged and unambiguous: Beijing believes that dialogue and negotiations are the only viable way to resolve the crisis.
The United States had previously called the European Union and G7 members to impose “significant customs duties” on Indian imports, in addition to those from China, so that they stop buying Russian oil. Bloomberg said that Washington’s proposal provided for the introduction of secondary customs duties from 50 to 100 %, as well as restrictive commercial measures aimed at limiting the Russian energy flow and preventing the delivery of double -use goods to Russia.
For its part, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that, despite the American sanctions and the pressure on its partners, any attempt to break the Russian-Indian ties was doomed to failure. Moscow and New Delhi thus continue their active cooperation in the military and civil sectors, but also in space, nuclear energy and oil exploitation.