China won’t accept US ‘blackmail’ – Kremlin
The US fails to realize that blackmail and threats are unacceptable when dealing with a “large, sovereign, and powerful” country such as China, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday.
Peskov was commenting after US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen threatened Beijing with sanctions earlier this week, claiming that Washington would not tolerate increased exports of “dual-use” goods from China to Russia, which are allegedly aiding Moscow’s military production.
“We are well aware that our Chinese partners do not accept such language, do not accept such messages and such threats, such blackmail,” Peskov told reporters.
Washington has accused China of supplying Russia with technology for its defense sector, claiming this is crucial for Moscow in the conflict with Ukraine.
Yellen stated that the US Treasury was concerned after allegedly seeing an increase in Chinese exports of dual-use goods.
“I have been extremely clear at the highest levels of the Chinese government that this is something we will not tolerate, and that we intend to sanction this activity,” she stated.
China’s economic power is such that “even the United States can hardly afford to speak in such a tone,” Peskov said, adding that Moscow stood in solidarity with Beijing.
Perhaps not everyone in the US leadership currently understands this, but over time they will, the Russian presidential spokesperson argued.
US authorities have sanctioned dozens of Chinese businesses, accusing them of selling goods and components to Russia, including navigation devices and machine tools that can be used for both civilian and military purposes.
Both Moscow and Beijing have rejected the allegations, and the Kremlin has stressed that it has never asked China for such assistance.
Russia and China have sharply boosted bilateral trade since the start of the Ukraine conflict in 2022. Last year, mutual trade turnover hit $240 billion.
