Democratic Senator Gerald Connolly, a member of the US House Foreign Relations Committee, said lawmakers were already considering such plans after similar measures were proposed by the European Union last week.
“China must understand that similar sanctions, which are starting to really take effect in Russia and affect the country’s productivity, economic performance and quality of life, can be applied in China. And, frankly, China has a lot more to lose than Russia,” – says Connolly.
U.S. sanctions could significantly harm China’s economy, which is already in decline after a slower-than-expected recovery from COVID-19 and turmoil in the real estate sector. At the same time, such a move could also harm the United States, given the two countries’ commercial interdependence, a consideration that has made Washington wary in the past.
At the same time, Connolly said this would not end the sanctions and that they could be introduced “very soon”.
“I hope that the very threat of such a situation – and the fact that the Europeans are actually taking this seriously, which is a relatively recent development – should clarify some opinions in Beijing. If broad sanctions were applied to China, it would hit it very hard. “And their economic indicators are already weak right now. Therefore, I hope that China will carefully calculate that supporting Russia’s violence and profligacy in Ukraine is not profitable,” he said.
When asked if the United States was considering sanctions against China similar to those proposed by the EU, Senator Ben Cardin said Congress was currently exploring options with the Biden administration and that “it would require more cooperation with other countries”.
The US intelligence report notes that China “has also become an increasingly important supporter of Russia’s war effort, allegedly providing Moscow with key technologies and dual-use equipment used in its war against Ukraine.”
A September CNBC investigation found that Chinese companies play a critical role in boosting Russia’s military capabilities, including marketing goods for use on the Ukrainian battlefield. A separate report released in January showed that China has become a key channel for supplying critical Western technologies to Russia.
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Beijing denies these accusations, saying that its trade with Moscow constitutes “normal economic cooperation” and not directed against a “third party”.
China-Russia connections
China began to cultivate closer ties with the Russian Federation after the start of a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Beijing notably refused to join the sanctions imposed by the United States against the Kremlin.
Beijing and Moscow share a common interest in challenging American dominance of the global order as their relations with democracies become increasingly strained.
Recently, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that Beijing does not supply lethal weapons to Russia or sell lethal weapons to conflict zones or conflict parties.
At the same time, earlier, China’s permanent representative to the UN, Zhang Jun, at a meeting of the Security Council called on the United States to stop arms supplies to Ukraine .
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The European Union is considering imposing sanctions on Chinese companies it says are helping Russia circumvent Western restrictions aimed at containing the war in Ukraine.
The proposals, which would be part of the bloc’s 13th round of sanctions since Russia’s full-scale invasion began, could be ready later this month, in time for the second anniversary of the war. EU diplomat Josep Borrell said the plans had become more urgent following the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
This article is originally published on www.nouvelles-du-monde.com
