The bloc threatened to “name and shame” 13 companies doing business with Moscow
The European Union may identify and possibly sanction more than a dozen companies based in China for providing Russia with goods that might be used in the Ukraine conflict, the bloc’s leaders have told reporters in Beijing.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council head Charles Michel were in China on Thursday, meeting with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang.
Von der Leyen said she had urged Xi “to prevent any attempts by Russia to undermine the impact of sanctions.” Michel handed the Chinese leader a list of 13 companies the bloc has accused of selling “dual-use goods” to Russia and asked him to “immediately” deal with the problem, according to Politico EU.
“We have identified a list of companies which are suspected to play a role in circumventing our sanctions,” Michel told reporters after the summit. “We sincerely hope that today we are heard, and then the appropriate action will be undertaken by China.”
If Beijing doesn’t crack down on the companies, the EU might “name and shame” them and “the member states will have to decide what further action to be done,” Michel said.
The US and its EU allies have imposed sanctions on Russia over the Ukraine conflict and sent billions of euros and dollars to prop up the government in Kiev, all the while insisting they were not a direct participant in the hostilities. China has refused to go along with the embargo, however, condemning it as “unilateral measures.”
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