China warns West: Target Russia for invading Ukraine, Confrontation will follow

As the Russian invasion of Ukraine completes a fortnight, the package of sanctions imposed by the western countries was questioned by China on Wednesday. The spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country in a statement 'firmly opposed' the package of sanctions and called it 'without any basis' in the International law.

"Willfully wielding the stick of sanctions cannot bring peace and security, but will only affect the economy & people’s livelihood, lead to a lose-lose situation and aggravate division & confrontation," the spokesperson said, adding that China and Russia have good energy cooperation and will continue to conduct normal trade cooperation including on oil and gas in the spirit of 'mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit'.

China warns the West

China also warned the West against harming Chinese rights and interests in any way while handling the Ukraine issue of invasion of Russia. "China will take all necessary measures to resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises and individuals," the spokesperson said. 

Zhao Lijian accused the West, especially the US of disseminating disinformation about China on the Ukraine issue. Zhao Lijian stated that the US seeks to make a profit from the issue and "shift blame" as well as "stoke confrontation" and called it a "despicable and malicious" practice. China has sought to take a neutral stance in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. 

Sanctions imposed by the US

On Tuesday, United States President Joe Biden decided to ban Russian oil imports, toughening the toll on Russia’s economy in retaliation for its invasion of Ukraine. In 2021, the US imported an average of 209,000 barrels per day (BPD) of crude oil and 500,000 BPD of other petroleum products from Russia, according to the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers trade association. This represented three per cent of US crude oil imports and one per cent of the total crude oil processed by US refineries. 

Speaking on the move, a senior official said that the US is working to “degrade the strength of Putin’s economy and war machine” by imposing curbs on Moscow’s energy exports. 

Since February 24, besides the US, other western countries have imposed a slew of financial restrictions, including freezing the assets of Russia’s central bank, limiting its ability to access its dollar reserves. The US, UK have also banned people and businesses from dealing with Russia’s central bank, finance ministry and wealth fund. Efforts are being made to remove Russian banks Bank Otkritie, Bank Rossiya, Novikombank, Promsvyazbank, Sovcombank, VEB and VTB from the Swift messaging system, which enables the transfer of money across borders. Russian President Vladimir Putin, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Kremlin-favoured oligarchs – including Igor Shuvalov and Alisher Usmanov – have also been sanctioned. 

There are also new restrictions on products that can be sent to Russia, including dual-use goods – those that can have both civilian and military use – such as chemicals and lasers.