US sanctions anger China

Deal with blacklisted Russian arms exporter triggers penalties

WASHINGTON — Chinese officials have summoned the U.S. ambassador in Beijing to denounce the United States for imposing economic sanctions on a Chinese military organization last week for buying equipment from Russia, according to Chinese state news reports Saturday.

The move came as China pressed the United States to withdraw the sanctions.

The sanctions were “a flagrant breach of basic rules of international relations” and “a stark show of hegemonism,” said Wu Qian, a spokesman for the Defense Ministry, according to the state news agency Xinhua.

The diplomatic dispute adds to rising tensions between the United States and China, the world’s two largest economies.

Foreign Ministry officials raised their objections with the U.S. ambassador, Terry Branstad, according to People’s Daily, the official Communist Party newspaper.

The State Department confirmed Saturday that Branstad met with Chinese officials, but it declined to comment further.

On Thursday, the State Department said it was imposing sanctions on the Equipment Development Department of the Chinese Central Military Commission and its top official for “engaging in significant transactions” with a group in the Russian defense sector that is on a