The European Union has imposed sanctions on two Chinese financial institutions for their involvement in supporting the Russian war economy. This is the first time that the EU imposes financial restrictions on banks from the PRC. As informs South China Morning Post, it is about part of the 18th package of sanctions, adopted to complicate the international financial support of Russia in the conditions of the war with Ukraine.
Two regional banks — Suifenhe Rural Commercial Bank and Heihe Rural Commercial Bank — were included in the sanction list. Both institutions are located near the border with Russia and, according to European services, contributed to the circumvention of financial restrictions against Moscow.
According to diplomatic sources, the decision was made despite repeated warnings from the Chinese authorities. During a recent meeting with the head of EU diplomacy, Kaya Callas, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, according to journalists’ interlocutors, warned three or four times about a possible tough response from Beijing if Chinese banks were included in the sanctions package.
However, although the European Union did not abandon the sanctions, the conditions for their application were softened. The European Commission, according to two diplomats, has informed the ambassadors of the member states that in six months the credit institutions can be removed from the list, provided that they prove the cessation of cooperation with the Russian military-industrial complex.
This move by the EU shows a change in Brussels’ position regarding Chinese participation in financial support of Russia and could become a precedent for further sanctions against third countries that help the Kremlin to circumvent Western restrictions.
