Answer in the last round of European sanction China is preparing, as he hit several Chinese companies and banks.
The European Union has imposed sanctions on two Chinese banks and five companies based in China on Friday (18.7.25) as part of the last round of sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
In a response Monday (21.7.25), the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said the sanctions “seriously damaged commercial, financial and financial relations” and that it would take the necessary measures to “safeguard the legal rights and interests of Chinese businesses”.
It is the first time that Chinese banks have been added to the European penalty of sanctions after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The banks imposed by sanctions are Heihe Rural Commercial Bank and Heilongjiang Suifenhe Rural Commercial Bank according to a European Council announcement. They were found in the list because they provided cryptocurrencies that cancel the purpose of sanctions, according to the EU.
The EU had earlier proposed to add to a list of financial institutions that allegedly helped Moscow “by processing transactions or providing export funding for commercial operations” bypassing EU sanctions, Bloomberg said last month.
China complained about this proposal when it was mentioned, with Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lynn Jian declaring in June that “regular exchanges and cooperation between Chinese and Russian companies are in line with the rules of the WTO and the market authorities.
Earlier this month, Foreign Minister Wang Yi promised retaliation in the event of the banks imported into the Stock Exchange, according to South China Morning Post, who also said that the EU Chinese ambassador had been pressured to stop the Stock Exchange.
China’s close links with Russia had submitted its banks to similar sanctions from the US in the past, which prompted them to reassess businesses and customers. Some of her state -owned banks have tightened restrictions on funding for Russian customers at the beginning of last year, after the US approved secondary sanctions on overseas financial companies that help Moscow’s war effort in Ukraine.
In February 2022, Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. and Bank of China Ltd. It was restricted on funding for Russian goods, had reported in Bloomberg News, although western sanctions at that time did not hit Russia’s active sector. The country’s largest state banks also have a history of compliance with previous US sanctions against Iran and North Korea so as not to lose access to the US dollar clearance system.