MOSCOW: Russian foreign ministry said that the US is using the threat of secondary sanctions against Chinese businesses seen as engaging with Moscow as a “pretext” to attempt and contain Beijing. This was stated by Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova responding to a question regarding US sanctions on about 300 targets – including Chinese firms – seen as helping Russia to circumvent the current Western sanctions.
She said that China’s economy irritates the United States to an extreme degree, so US sanctions should be seen as a try to hold onto its economic leadership in the absence of any actual opportunity to do so lawfully. She added that Moscow is just a pretext.
The new Treasury sanctions specifically targeted companies in countries including Azerbaijan, China, Turkey, Belgium, and the UAE that it accused of enabling Russia to acquire dual-use technologies and equipment from abroad.
Responding to another question, Zakharova said: “You know, this is a trade war that is taking place at complete speed for the redistribution of the market, for the US to maintain its own pace of development.
