US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned Chinese firms against exporting goods to Russia that could be used in a war against Ukraine.
"I emphasised that companies in China are not allowed to provide any support for Russia's war against Ukraine, and that they will face serious consequences if they ignore this ban," she said after a visit to Beijing, Deutsche Welle reports.
The head of the US Treasury also reminded that any banks that make transfers to Russia and thereby provide the Russian defence industry with goods that can be used for military purposes are under the threat of US sanctions.
The US has already imposed a number of sanctions on Chinese companies. Firstly, the administration of US President Joe Biden accuses some Chinese firms of supporting Russia's war against Ukraine by supplying Moscow with dual-use goods that can be used for military purposes.
Secondly, the White House wanted to punish Chinese companies that are allegedly involved in the use of forced labour in China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
Thirdly, the US wants to cut off China from high technology through sanctions because of fears that Beijing could use it for military purposes.
Janet Yellen has been on a visit to China since 4 April. The main topic of her talks was the huge US trade deficit with China. Among other things, she accused China of flooding the world market with subsidised cheap products.
For its part, China drew the US Secretary's attention to US sanctions, which, in Beijing's view, are intended to hinder China's economic development. The deficit in US trade with China last year was almost $280 billion.
Background. As reported, the United States is warning its allies that China is increasing its assistance to Russia. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken suggested that they take three steps to counteract Sino-Russian cooperation.