(MENAFN) China’s Ministry of Commerce has strongly criticized the European Union’s decision to sanction Chinese companies and banks over alleged ties to Russia, calling the move unfounded. Beijing pledged to protect the interests of the targeted firms.

Last Friday, the EU announced its 18th package of sanctions against Russia in response to the Ukraine conflict, adding two Chinese banks and five companies to the blacklist, accusing them of helping Moscow bypass previous sanctions.

“China firmly opposes unilateral sanctions without a foundation in international law or UN Security Council approval,” a ministry spokesperson said on Monday. They warned that the EU’s actions will harm trade and economic cooperation between China and Europe. Beijing urged the EU to immediately stop this “erroneous practice” and vowed to take necessary steps to defend its businesses’ legal rights.

Among the newly sanctioned Chinese entities are Heihe Rural Commercial Bank and Heilongjiang Suifenhe Rural Commercial Bank, accused of offering cryptocurrency services that Brussels claims undermine previous sanctions. This marks the first time Chinese banks have been targeted by EU sanctions since the Ukraine conflict escalated in 2022.

The sanctions package also includes seven UAE-based firms linked to oil trading and ship management aiding Russian exports, as well as Nayara Energy, an Indian refinery partly owned by Russia’s Rosneft. Additionally, eight Belarusian companies involved in defense manufacturing and four Turkish firms accused of supplying dual-use technologies to Russia were sanctioned.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed the new measures as a “double-edged sword,” warning that such actions also harm the countries imposing them. He noted that Russia has grown resilient to these “illegal” Western sanctions.

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