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China says US sanctions over Ukraine should not affect right to trade with Russia
- China is opposed to unilateral sanctions with no basis in international law, foreign ministry says
- ‘Normal trade’ with Russia to continue, spokesman says, while calling for de-escalation in Ukraine
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Normal trade with Russia will continue and the US sanctions on Moscow should not harm China’s legitimate rights, the foreign ministry in Beijing said.
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“China is not in favour of using sanctions to solve problems and furthermore opposed to unilateral sanctions that have no basis in international law,” ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Monday.
This came as the US and its allies in Europe and Asia imposed a slew of sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, including cutting Russian banks out of the Swift international payments system.
Commenting on the Swift ban and whether Chinese companies would comply with US sanctions to stop delivering Russian orders, Wang said China and Russia would “continue to carry out normal trade cooperation in the spirit of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit”.
“We demand that the US side should not undermine the legitimate rights and interests of China and other parties when dealing with the Ukraine issue and relations with Russia,” he said.
China’s consistent position had been that all countries’ sovereignty and territorial integrity should be respected and maintained, and the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter should be jointly safeguarded, Wang added.
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