United Nations, Jan 13 China, at the UN Security Council, criticised US sanctions against trade with Russia, asserting that it was using the Ukraine crisis as an excuse for the action.
"China opposes the use of the crisis by any party as a pretext to impose illegal unilateral sanctions and disrupt normal trade and economic relations," Beijing’s Deputy Permanent Representative Sun Lei said at a meeting on Ukraine on Monday.
So far, China has escaped the punitive tariffs for buying Russian oil, which US President Donald Trump singled out India among all those buying petroleum products from Moscow.
However, China could be snagged by a legislative move greenlighted by Trump.
Senator Lindsey Graham’s proposed legislation seeks to impose a 500 per cent tariff on countries buying Russian oil, which, if passed by Congress, could apply to China.
Sun warned: "The continued spillover of the (Ukraine) crisis has severely impinged on the global economy."
"The international community should send a more objective, balanced, and rational voice to help realise the vision of peace as soon as possible," he added.
Speaking at the Council meeting on behalf of the Baltic states, Lithuania’s representative took a shot at those involved economically with Moscow, only mentioning North Korea and Iran.
But he asserted that "Moscow's aggression" was financed through "shadow fleet tankers" and illegal oil trade, he said.
Besides China, other countries, including Hungary and Turkey, also buy Russian oil, but Trump has spared them punitive tariffs.
While not criticising Russia, Sun put some distance from Moscow, supporting a "sustainable European security architecture" as he backed the peace efforts that he said were gaining momentum.
A security architecture could include guarantees for Ukraine from the US and Western Europe, and European troops in Ukraine for its safety.
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