Ukraine war: US takes aim at Chinese firms in wave of sanctions targeting Russia
- 20 companies based in mainland China and Hong Kong were among hundreds of entities hit by the wide-ranging move
- The sanctions follow warnings by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen over Chinese support for Russia’s military
The US government imposed sanctions on 20 Hong Kong and mainland Chinese companies on Wednesday for alleged roles in the development of Russia’s industrial base and military, along with dozens of other businesses and individuals based in Russia, Turkey and other countries.
In addition to alleged circumvention of US sanctions on Russia, the new sanctions by the departments of State and Treasury target Hong Kong and mainland Chinese firms for supporting the development of Russian energy production and advanced manufacturing.
“Treasury has consistently warned that companies will face significant consequences for providing material support for Russia’s war, and the US is imposing them today,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said. The move “will further disrupt and degrade Russia’s war efforts by going after its military industrial base and the evasion networks that help supply it”.
Tulun International Holding Limited of Hong Kong was sanctioned by Yellen’s department for allegedly representing itself “as the end-user of, but ultimately resold, Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) boards that were installed in Russian one-way attack unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) used by Russian military forces to attack Ukrainian targets”.
CFU Shipping Company Limited, another Hong Kong-based company, was accused in the State Department’s sanctions list of operating a heavy load carrier that delivered the final module for a production train at Russian liquefied natural gas terminal Arctic LNG 2, located near the Arctic Ocean.
The US sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 last month as part of its efforts to curb revenues that help to support Russia’s military.
CFU Shipping was one among more than 80 entities and individuals sanctioned by the State Department “including those engaged in: development of Russia’s future energy, metals, and mining production and export capacity; sanctions evasion and circumvention; and furthering Russia’s ability to wage its war against Ukraine”.