US Sanctions 20 Chinese Companies for Trading With Russia

The companies are accused of supporting Russia's 'military-industrial base'

The US on Wednesday announced sanctions on hundreds of entities for allegedly supporting Russia’s “military-industrial base,” including 20 companies based in China and Hong Kong.

The Chinese companies are accused of providing Russia with technology that can be used in the development of drones and missiles. The US also targeted individuals and other companies based in Russia, Turkey, Slovakia, Azerbaijan, Belgium, and the UAE.

The sanctions are the most wide-ranging the US has imposed to target China’s trade relationship with Russia. The measures come after Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Beijing last week and threatened that the US would take action unless China reduced trade with its neighbor.

“The PRC is providing components that are powering Russia’s brutal war of aggression against Ukraine. China is the top supplier… dual-use items that Moscow is using to ramp up its defense industrial base,” Blinken said on the last day of his three-day visit. “I made clear that if China does not address this problem, we will.”

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg also recently went after China for its trade relationship with Russia, claiming that Beijing was “fueling” the war in Ukraine even though it’s not providing weapons and has consistently called for peace talks, unlike the US and NATO.

The sanctions are not expected to have an impact on Russia and China’s trade, which has significantly increased in 2022 since the US and its allies ramped up sanctions on Russia in response to the invasion of Ukraine.

Author: Dave DeCamp

Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com, follow him on Twitter @decampdave.