China: New US sanctions threaten co-operation over N Korea
China reacted with anger on Saturday to new US sanctions aimed at increasing pressure on nuclearequipped North Korea, saying the unilateral targeting of Chinese firms and people risked harming co-operation on the problem.
The United States said last Friday it was imposing its largest package of sanctions aimed at getting North Korea to give up its nuclear and missile programmes, and President Donald Trump warned of a “phase two” that could be “very, very unfortunate for the world” if the steps did not work. In addressing the Trump administration’s biggest national security challenge, the US Treasury sanctioned one person, 27 companies and 28 ships, according to a statement on the US Treasury Department’s website. The sanctions’ targets include a Taiwan passport holder, as well as shipping and energy firms in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore. The actions block assets held by the firms and individuals in the United States and prohibit U.S. citizens from dealing with them.
In a terse statement, China’s Foreign Ministry said the government had always fully and thoroughly enforced United Nations resolutions on North Korea, and absolutely did not allow any of its citizens or companies to contravene them.
China will “seriously handle” in accordance with the law those found to have done so, it added.