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Chinese Foreign Ministry Urges US to Lift Sanctions, Warns of Consequences

BEIJING (Sputnik) - China urges the United States to immediately lift the new sanctions against Beijing over military cooperation with Russia, otherwise Washington will have to bear the consequences, Geng Shuang said.
Sputnik

"We urge the US side to immediately correct its mistakes, lift the so-called sanctions, otherwise the US side will have to face the consequences," the spokesman told a briefing, commenting on the new sanctions.

China has made a harsh representation to the United States over the sanctions against Beijing for military cooperation with Russia, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said on Friday.

READ MORE: Russian Lawmaker Views New US Sanctions Against China as 'Unfair Competition'

"The Chinese side expresses its extreme outrage with the mentioned actions and has already made a harsh representation," the spokesman told a briefing.

The US sanctions, imposed against China over military cooperation with Russia, are a gross violation of the principles of international relations, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said.

"The actions of the US side have grossly violated the basic principles of international relations … The actions of the US side significantly undermine relations between the armed forces of China and the United States," the spokesman told a briefing, commenting on the new sanctions.

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The spokesman stressed that the cooperation between Russia and China, including in the defense area, did not violate international law and was not directed against third countries, adding that Beijing would continue to enhance collaboration with Moscow despite the US sanctions.

On Thursday, a senior US administration official told reporters that the United States had sanctioned China's Equipment Development Department (EDD) and its Director Li Shangfu for buying missile defense systems and combat aircraft from Russia in violation of the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).

Earlier this month, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov criticized what he said was Washington's "sanctions-first" approach to diplomacy.

The United States passed the CAATSA legislation in August 2017 in response in part to Russia's alleged interference in the 2016 US presidential election.

Russia has denied all allegations of meddling in the election, calling the accusations "absurd."

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