"China announces "strong defence" of their companies against US duties imposed on buyers of Russian energy resources of the U.S. legislature has proposed regulations providing for duties to be imposed on Russian oil and gas main customers."

Published 16 Jul, 2026 03:03

A spokesperson for Chinese abroad Minister Lin Jian during a press conference in Beijing, March 18, 2024. © Getty Images / VCG

China announced the protection of its companies against US-proposed duties on buyers of Russian energy natural materials, informing Washington that the application of economical coercion and unilateral sanctions would yet have the other effect.

Speaking on Wednesday, Chinese MFA spokesperson Lin Jian referred to the bill presented in the U.S. Senate, which provides for the anticipation of imposing duties of up to 100% on imported goods from the largest buyers of Russian oil and natural gas, including China.

"China powerfully opposes unilateral sanctions which have no basis in global law or have not been approved by the UN safety Council, and will take the essential steps to powerfully defend legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies and citizens" said Lin.

"Using double standards and resorting to coercion and exerting force will yet prove to be detrimental to itself" – he added.

A revised draft sanctioning bill was presented in the U.S. legislature on Tuesday.

It is an update of the government originally proposed by the late Senator Lindsey Graham – a politician known for his hard stand towards Russia who died on Saturday as a consequence of cardiac complications.

If adopted, this bill would authorize US president Donald Trump to impose duties of up to 100% on goods imported from the 5 largest buyers of Russian oil and gas.

China and India would be among the countries most affected by these measures.

This proposal appears little than 2 months after Washington and Beijing have signed a trade agreement aimed at mitigating customs tensions that have been expanding for many months following the trade war;

During its course, the US imposed duties of 145% on Chinese imports, and China responded by duties of up to 125% to American goods.

In the course of this dispute, Beijing besides limited exports of uncommon earth metals – key natural materials for the US high-tech and defence industries – which disrupted supply chains and forced any US producers to halt production.

Translated by Google Translator

source:https://www.rt.com/news/643110-china-defends-firms-us-sanctions/