China accused the European Union today of slandering it after the bloc adopted sanctions against several Chinese companies for what Brussels said were supplying military equipment to Russia for its war in Ukraine, Agence France-Presse reported.
Beijing will take “necessary measures to resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies“, said Lin Jiang, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, at his regular press conference.
The EU yesterday blacklisted four Chinese companies for alleged supplies of sensitive drone components and microprocessors to the Russian military industry.
One individual and two legal entities were also sanctioned for allegedly helping Moscow circumvent Western sanctions against Russia following its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The Chinese spokesman said today that these sanctions are unfounded from the point of view of international law.
“As for Ukraine, China has always done its utmost to promote peace talks and has never supplied weapons to the parties involved in the conflict“, Lin Jiang added.
He called on the EU to “stop slandering and accusing China without any factual basis“.
Brussels has previously sanctioned Chinese companies, accusing them of supporting the Russian military. However, yesterday's sanctions are the heaviest yet, AFP reported.