Russian fighter jets : China hits back at U.S.
China has protested over the US’ “unreasonable” decision to slap punitive sanctions on a Chinese military unit for buying Russian fighter jets and surface-to-air missile equipment.
“China expressed strong indignation towards the unreasonable move by the United States, and has made solemn representation,” foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said on Friday.
“The US has seriously violated the basic norms of international relations and disturbed the relationship between China and the U.S.
“We strongly call on the U.S. to remedy the mistake and cancel the sanctions. Otherwise, the US has to bear the consequences.”he said.
The protest was in response to Washington’s announcement that the Chinese defence ministry’s Equipment Development Department (EDD) violated U.S. sanctions on Russia by buying the jets and missile equipment.
Both the EDD and its director, Li Shangfu, were named in the sanctions.
The U.S. Department of State said the sanctions were invoked under Section 231 of the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act of 2017 “for engaging in significant transactions with persons on the [List of Specified Persons]”.
