China slams U.S., EU, U.K. for Russia-related sanctions on companies

BEIJING  (Reuters) -- China firmly opposes the decisions of Britain, the European Union and the United States to impose sanctions on its companies for Russia-related reasons, its commerce ministry said on Monday.

On Friday, the Biden administration announced new trade curbs on 93 entities from Russia, China, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Kyrgyzstan, India and South Korea for supporting Russia's war effort in Ukraine.

The EU had approved on Wednesday its own package of sweeping sanctions against Russia, including some against three Chinese firms and one Hong Kong-based company, while curbs announced by Britain on Thursday included sanctions on three Chinese electronics companies.

"China will resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises," the commerce ministry said in three statements on its website.

The latest tranche of sanctions is designed to prevent firms around the world circumventing measures already adopted to keep Moscow from procuring military hardware or equipment needed to replenish its munitions and other military items.

Saturday marked the second anniversary of Russia's war in Ukraine, which began on Feb. 24, 2022.

China warned the European Union and Britain the measures would have a "negative impact" on economic and trade ties, but did not make use of the phrase in its statement aimed at the United States.