EU Imposes Fresh Sanctions on 19 China-Linked Entities for Aiding Russia

European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell delivers a statement at the EU's headquarters in Brussels, on May 27, 2024. Francois Walschaerts/ AFP via Getty Images

The European Union (EU) has sanctioned 19 Chinese companies for supporting Russia during its war against Ukraine.

The 19 companies listed in the Official Journal of the European Union are based in mainland China and Hong Kong and are among 61 entities issued with new sanctions on June 24 for their role in “directly supporting Russia’s military and industrial complex” in its war against Ukraine.

The list also includes nine companies in Turkey, two in Kyrgyzstan, and one each in India, Kazakhstan, and the United Arab Emirates.

Many of the entities allegedly help Russia circumvent the bloc’s sanctions and buy “sensitive items” used in drones or items that support the Kremlin’s military operations, the European Council said in a statement.

Brussels will impose tighter trade restrictions on listed entities regarding dual-use goods and products that “might contribute to the technological enhancement of Russia’s defense and security sector.”

Among the entities in the latest round of EU sanctions is China Head Aerospace Group, a Beijing-based company that was blacklisted by the Department of the Treasury in April 2023. Washington accused the Chinese company of supplying satellite imagery of locations in Ukraine to entities affiliated with the Wagner military organization.

Another notable Chinese firm named in the sanctions package is Shenzhen 5G High-Tech Innovation Company. In April, the tech company was placed on the U.S. sanction list for acting as a Chinese intermediary for Peleng, a Belarusian defense firm that Washington believes supplies fire-control systems for Russian tanks.

In response to the bloc’s latest move, the Chinese communist regime pledged to take “necessary measures” to defend its companies’ interests.

At a daily briefing on June 25, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning defended the Chinese companies’ trade with their Russian counterparts, saying it’s “normal exchanges and cooperation” and shouldn’t be “intervened or affected by a third party.”

The EU’s new sanctions were imposed amid renewed concerns in the West over Chinese Communist Party (CCP) support for the Kremlin’s war efforts.

During a meeting in Paris with visiting CCP leader Xi Jinping, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen criticized the Chinese regime for supplying Russia with materials that have both civilian and military uses.

“More effort is needed to curtail delivery of dual-use goods to Russia that find their way to the battlefield,” Ms. von der Leyen told reporters after a three-way talk with the Chinese leader and French President Emmanuel Macron in May. “Given the existential nature of the threats stemming from this war for both Ukraine and Europe, this does affect the EU–China relations.”

German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck delivered a similar message during a recent visit to China.

“Circumventions of the sanctions imposed on Russia are not acceptable,” Mr. Habeck told reporters on June 22 after meeting with senior Chinese officials in Beijing.

Residents clean debris next to heavily damaged houses following shelling in Pokrovsk, in the eastern Donetsk region of Ukraine, on June 24, 2024. Roman Pilipey/AFP via Getty Images

Trade between China and Russia surged by more than 40 percent in 2023, and according to Mr. Habeck, nearly half of the increase was because of dual-use products.

The U.S. government earlier this month unveiled fresh sanctions against more than 300 entities and individuals, including many from third countries such as China.

During a visit to China in April, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the CCP is “powering” Russia’s war against Ukraine, noting that Moscow would “struggle to sustain its assault on Ukraine” without Beijing’s support.

On June 25, the State Department applauded the EU’s new sanctions.

“We’ve seen, unfortunately, over the last two years Russia reconstituting capabilities to produce more weapons” and new weapons systems, the U.S. State Department’s acting under secretary for political affairs, John Bass, said during a press conference.

“They’re able to do that primarily as a result of support from industry in the People’s Republic of China,” he said.

“So we welcome the strong support from our European allies and partners in complementing U.S. sanctions to try to disrupt these illicit flows of technology and other resources needed to maintain Russia’s war effort and to increase the costs to Russia from its continued prosecution of this illegal war of aggression.”