China warns EU against adopting ‘one-sided’ sanctions

BERLIN

China’s foreign minister on Tuesday warned the EU against introducing “one-sided” sanctions against Chinese companies.

Speaking at a joint news conference with his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock in Berlin, Qin Gang dismissed media reports that claimed several Chinese companies supplied Russia with weapons components.

“We’re not delivering any weapons into crisis regions, this is regulated by law in China,” Qin told reporters, adding that they were closely monitoring the export of dual-use goods.

He also underlined that “normal exchanges and cooperation” between Chinese and Russian companies should not be disturbed.

Qin underlined that China would retaliate if the EU’s next sanctions package also targets Chinese companies.

“We are strongly against the attempts of some countries to introduce extraterritorial or one-sided sanctions according to their own domestic laws against China,” he said.

“If that happens we will also react strictly and firmly, and we will defend the legal and legitimate interests of our country and our companies,” the foreign minister added.

German finance minister’s visit postponed

In response to a question about the postponement of German Finance Minister Christian Lindner’s planned visit to Beijing, the Chinese foreign minister said it was postponed due to technical reasons.

”Our finance minister had to urgently attend to another program, so this visit had to be postponed. I believe that the relevant ministries will agree on a new date as soon as possible,” he said. ”The visit was postponed merely due to technical reasons. It should not be over-interpreted.”

German media reported earlier that the visit was postponed by China in response to German Education Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger’s visit to Taiwan in March.

Beijing considers Taiwan “an inseparable part of Chinese territory” and has repeatedly urged other nations to avoid direct relations with Taipei.