The European Union flags in front of EU headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. Photo: Xinhua

The European Union (EU) plans to add another 25 Chinese entities to a blacklist of companies for so-called "circumventing sanctions on Russia," as part of the next package of measures aimed at hobbling Moscow, the South China Morning Post reported on Saturday.

A Chinese expert told the Global Times on Sunday that the planned move of EU is likely motivated by making political posture, however, it is unwise for the EU to still follow the previous US administration's approach to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The entities - a mixture of mainland and Hong Kong-registered companies - will be banned from sourcing goods from the EU, should the package be agreed by the bloc's member states, according to senior figures familiar with the proposal, the report said.

The as-yet unnamed companies are facing the old tune of being accused of funneling European-made goods to Russian military-linked buyers that are banned from accessing them.

As part of the 16th package of measures since the Russia-Ukraine conflict began in February 2022, this move came after the EU announced its 15th sanctions package against Russia on December 16, 2024, which once again includes the listing of Chinese companies and, for the first time, imposes what it calls "fully-fledged" sanctions on Chinese entities.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian responded on December 17, 2024 that China firmly opposes unilateral sanctions that have no basis in international law or authorization by the UN Security Council. China deplores and firmly opposes the EU's unjustified sanctions against Chinese companies. 

"On the Ukraine crisis, China is committed to promoting talks for peace. China never provides weapons to the parties to the conflict and strictly controls the export of dual-use articles," Lin said.

"If China had really provided military supplies to Russia, the situation on the battleground would not have been where it is now," Geng Shuang, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations (UN), said in January at a UN Security Council Briefing on Ukraine.

According to Zhao Junjie, a senior research fellow at the Institute of European Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, despite China's repeated clarifications of its stance on the Russia-Ukraine issue, the EU continues to sanction Chinese companies based on unfounded reasons, likely motivated by making political posture, aiming to reinforce an anti-Russia stance while extending sanctions to China under the guise of political correctness.

"The EU is largely aligning with the US strategy of sustaining pressure on Russia. However, China, as a party not involved in the Russia-Ukraine conflict has been unjustly subjected to sanctions," Cui Heng, a scholar from the Shanghai-based China National Institute for SCO International Exchange and Judicial Cooperation, told the Global Times on Sunday.

Zhao also pointed out that it is unwise for the EU to still follow the previous US administration's approach to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

According to The New York Post on Saturday, Trump has spoken to Russian leader Vladimir Putin on the phone to try to negotiate an end to the Ukraine crisis.

EU's reported plan to sanction another 25 Chinese entities came at a time after Trump reiterated a warning to the bloc that tariffs "will definitely happen," citing a large trade deficit with EU, Bloomberg reported on Monday.

The EU continues to dig its own economic grave, planning to impose sanctions against Chinese companies, while a trade war with the US is on the nose, from which the Euro-economy will suffer even more, Russian Senator Alexey Pushkov said on Saturday, according to Sputnik News. 

The EU would be wise to adopt a more pragmatic approach in its China policy by avoiding unwarranted restrictions, as such measures ultimately run counter to the EU's own interests, the expert said.