China has asserted that its right to engage in normal trade and economic cooperation with all countries, including Russia, should not be hindered.
Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in the US, told the news agency TASS on Thursday that Washington should refrain from undermining the economic and trade cooperation between Beijing and Moscow, which he characterized as being based on equality and mutual benefit.
This statement follows comments by Daniel Kritenbrink, the US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, who claimed that Beijing is supporting Moscow’s military operation against Ukraine by providing assistance to the Russian defense industry. According to Washington, this assistance is destabilizing.
“China’s right to engage in normal economic and trade exchanges with all countries, including Russia … should not be undermined,” Liu stated, dismissing Washington’s accusations as baseless.
“The US is organizing a campaign to help Ukraine while making groundless accusations,” the Chinese spokesperson said, criticizing this approach as “hypocritical and irresponsible,” which he stated China firmly opposes.
The spokesperson emphasized that Beijing has consistently maintained “an objective and fair stance” regarding the Ukraine conflict and has actively promoted peace talks and a political resolution.
“We don’t seek selfish gains by fueling the tensions, nor do we provide weaponry to either side,” Liu concluded.
Previously, Beijing had accused the US and its allies, who together supply the majority of Ukraine’s military equipment, of hypocrisy, stating that Western powers should focus on bringing Russia and Ukraine to the negotiating table instead of “shifting the blame” onto China for the continued hostilities.
However, the West, particularly the US, has maintained that Beijing is bolstering Russia’s military efforts by supplying it with dual-use components that can be used in weapons production. Both Moscow and Beijing have rejected these allegations.
Despite this, the US has imposed sanctions on numerous Chinese companies, accusing them of selling goods and components to Russia, including navigation devices and machine tools that can be used for both civilian and military purposes.
As part of its recent actions, the US Treasury announced it was increasing “the risk of secondary sanctions for foreign financial institutions that deal with Russia’s war economy,” effectively threatening them with losing access to the American financial system.
China’s Foreign Ministry has repeatedly emphasized that economic and trade cooperation between China and Russia “will not be disrupted by any third party.”
Trade between the two countries has reached record highs in the wake of Western sanctions against Moscow. According to official data, mutual trade turnover exceeded $240 billion last year, with Russian imports from China jumping nearly 47% to $111 billion, and exports to China growing by 12.7%, to $129 billion. Moscow and Beijing have set a target of $300 billion in bilateral trade by 2030.