China summons US envoy, protests military sanctions for buying Russian arms

Beijing, Sep. 22 (PTI): China on Saturday summoned the US ambassador to lodge an official protest over sanctions imposed by Washington on a Chinese military unit for purchasing advanced fighter jets and missile systems from Russia, according to a media report.
Also, China has cancelled a reported move to send Vice-Premier Liu He to Washington for talks to end the escalating trade war between the world’s two largest economies, following imposition of tariffs on Chinese goods by the Trump administration.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry summoned the US ambassador to protest against US sanctions on the equipment development department of the Chinese military and its director, the official media reported on Saturday.

The US State Department said on Thursday that it would immediately impose sanctions on the equipment development department of the Chinese military and its director, Li Shangfu, for engaging in “significant transactions” with Russia’s main arms exporter.

The US said the purchases of Russian Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets and S-400 surface-to-air missiles by China’s Equipment Development Department (EDD) of Ministry of Defence has violated US sanctions on Russia.

It was the first time the Trump administration targeted a third country with its Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act of 2017 (CAATSA), designed to punish Russia for its seizure of Crimea and other activities.

While the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Geng Shuang on Friday expressed outrage and asked Washington to revoke the decision or face consequences, China’s military today expressed indignation over the move.

“The Chinese military expressed strong indignation and opposition to US sanctions on the equipment development department of the Chinese military and its director,” the state-run China Daily quoted a military spokesman as saying.

Col Wu Qian, a spokesman for the Ministry of National Defence said that the military cooperation between China and Russia is within the normal range of cooperation between sovereign states in accordance with international laws, and the US has no right to interfere.