What China Sends Russia Is 'None Of EU's Business'

If adopted, it would be the first time the EU has imposed restrictions on companies in mainland China since Russia invaded Ukraine.

The sanctions package would be the 13th since the invasion. The EU has so far sanctioned more than 600 companies, most of which are based in Russia.

On Wednesday, the EU, the United States and the United Kingdom held a meeting in Brussels to discuss how to ensure Moscow could not get around existing restrictions.

In a Beijing meeting on December 7 last year, European Council chief Charles Michel requested Xi to immediately deal with 13 companies involved in supplying Russia with dual-use goods. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said China should prevent any attempts by Russia to undermine the impact of sanctions.

“Is the EU trying to ban Chinese firms from cooperating with Russia? There is no need for Chinese companies to implement the EU sanctions against Russia,” a Jiangxi-based military commentator using the pen name“Snow wolf” says in an article published last December.

He said Chinese firms have the freedoms and rights to choose to cooperate with Russian counterparts while all these partnerships are done in accordance with international law.

“Stopping China from cooperating with Russia will not help resolve the Russian-Ukrainian conflicts, but will only benefit the EU and the US,” he said, adding that the EU should stop providing military assistance to Ukraine before blaming China.

On February 8, Chinese President Xi Jinping told Russian President Vladimir Putin in a phone call that both China and Russia should resolutely oppose interference in internal affairs by external forces.

He said both sides should pursue close strategic coordination and defend the sovereignty, security and development interests of their respective countries.

In May 2021, the EU decided to set aside the discussion of the China-EU Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) over human rights issues in China's Xinjiang region. Beijing has tried to push forward the resumption of the negotiation since then.

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Last April, French President Emmanuel Macron met Xi in Beijing while Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao also met his counterparts in Paris. However, Macron told the media that it's not the time to restart the CAI negotiation.

He also said in May 2023 that Moscow was becoming subservient to China as it had lost access to the Baltic after Sweden and Finland decided to join NATO.

Macron's comments came after the European Commission's von der Leye called on Europe to reassess its diplomatic and economic relations with China.

Some commentators said the souring relations between the EU and China will make it more difficult for both sides to return to the negotiation table for the CAI deal. They said Beijing has already changed its strategy and tried to hold talks with European countries individually.

Read: Europeans demand China quit aiding Putin in Ukraine

Follow Jeff Pao on Twitter at
@jeffpao3

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