The Ministry of Commerce Photo: VCG

China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) on Wednesday firmly opposed and slammed the UK's sanctioning five Chinese companies by listing them on the grounds of alleged involvement with Russia, and the ministry vowed to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of all Chinese enterprises. 

The UK side, disregarding China's protests and the positive momentum of the development of China-UK economic and trade relations, placed the Chinese companies on a sanction list, which negatively impacted on bilateral economic and trade relations, said a spokesperson from the MOFCOM. 

As the UK recently announced a new batch of Russia-related sanctions, among which five Chinese companies were included, the MOFCOM spokesperson said the practice was typical "long-arm jurisdiction" and a unilateral sanction without international legal basis and authorization from the United Nations.

The MOFCOM said the Chinese side firmly opposed the sanctions, and urged the UK to rectify the wrong-doing immediately, stop listing and sanctioning Chinese companies, so as to stabilize China-UK economic and trade cooperation.

The UK government on June 13, 2024, announced that "to crack down on Putin's war machine," it will impose 50 new sanctions designations and specifications, including five Chinese entities. The sanctions came two days ahead of the so-called Ukraine peace summit held from June 15 to 16 in Switzerland.

The Chinese Embassy in the UK has criticized the sanction, noting that they are a unilateral action with no basis in international law and China has made solemn representations to the UK regarding the sanctions.

Global Times