cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/44528628

• Most economically significant sanctions on China entities so far
• Sanctions package expected to be adopted this week
• China denies anything other than normal trade with Russia
• New listings follow UK sanctions on Chinese refinery, ports

The European Union’s 19th package of sanctions against Russia will list four companies involved in China’s oil industry that circumvent Western restrictions, EU diplomatic sources said on Wednesday.

They said the package lists two independent Chinese oil refineries, a Chinese trading firm and an entity involved in circumvention. The latter is mostly involved in sectors outside oil, they said. The sources declined to provide further details.

The EU has toughened its stance on Beijing as diplomatic efforts have stalled. EU sanctions envoy David O’Sullivan told Reuters earlier this month that China still denies doing anything other than “normal trade” three years into Russia’s war in Ukraine. The EU, Ukraine and its allies view China as a central node in Moscow’s sanctions circumvention network.

[…]

The Chinese listings are not the EU’s first but they are the most economically significant. In previous packages, the EU listed Chinese entities involved in drone-making and the flow of dual-use goods to Russia. In July, Brussels listed two small Chinese banks, which prompted China to retaliate in August with bans on two Lithuanian banks.

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