Beijing sends warning to US over sanctions on its military

BEIJING has warned that the US must “bear responsibility for the consequences” if it does not withdraw new sanctions on China for buying military equipment from Russia.

The US government imposed sanctions on the Chinese military on Thursday for purchasing 10 SU-25 fighter jets and S-400 surface-to-air missile systems from Russia, in breach of sweeping US sanctions punishing Moscow for meddling in the 2016 election.

The sanctions target China’s Equipment Development Department, the military branch responsible for weapons and equipment, and Li Shangfu, its director, for engaging in transactions with Rosoboronexport, Russia’s main arms exporter.

The sanctions come at the height of a multi-billion dollar trade war.

“We strongly urge the US side to immediately correct the mistake and rescind the so-called sanctions; otherwise the US side will necessarily bear responsibility for the consequences,” Geng Shuang, a spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry, said.

China has cosied up to Russia lately at a time when both nations have been targeted by the US.

Bilateral relations have been so successful that China was invited to take part in military exercises in Russia earlier this month, the country’s largest since the Cold War and the first including a country from outside the former Soviet bloc.

One US official, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity, said the sanctions imposed on the Chinese agency were aimed at Moscow, not Beijing or its military, despite the escalating trade war.

Despite China essentially taking a hit for Russia, analysts say the sanctions could push the two closer still.