EU proposes sanctions against Chinese firms for helping Russia, G7 also prepares measures

The EU is proposing to impose sanctions on several Chinese firms that it claims helped Russian companies develop attack drones used against Ukraine.

The European Commission’s proposals, which Bloomberg reviewed, include this information.

15th EU sanctions package will target companies which help Russia’s war efforts

According to the documents, as part of the 15th package of sanctions, the European Commission proposes to list more than 50 individuals and almost 30 legal entities, freeze their assets, and impose a travel ban.

The sanctions primarily target Russian military manufacturers, a small group of Chinese firms that supply them with equipment, and other firms that allegedly collaborate with Russian companies in the development of attack drones and supply them with key components such as engines.

G7 prepares measures against China for its support of Russia’s war efforts

The G7 foreign ministers are preparing to implement “appropriate measures” against China and other nations that back Russia’s military actions in Ukraine, coinciding with these proposals.

The United States and the UK have already sanctioned some of the companies against which the EU is preparing to impose restrictions.

The EU has also proposed to add to the sanctions list a Chinese citizen who controls a company that violated EU trade restrictions, a Hong Kong firm that provided banned microelectronic components to Russian military firms, and North Korean officials involved in the deployment of troops to help Russia.

The European Commission is also considering imposing restrictions on additional Russian oil tankers to limit Moscow’s ability to circumvent the current restrictive measures.

As part of efforts to strengthen enforcement of existing measures, the EU is also proposing trade restrictions on about three dozen organizations that help Moscow acquire banned technologies used in weapons found in Ukraine.

According to the documents, the list includes firms from Russia, Serbia, Iran, India, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as China and Hong Kong.

The European Union has previously discussed imposing sanctions on Chinese companies but has so far refrained from doing so.

US and UK have already hit Chinese firms with sanctions

Instead, the United States introduced sanctions against China for the first time in October over its military support for Russia.

On Thursday, October 17, the U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions against three entities and one individual, including those from China, involved in the production of Garpiya long-range strike drones for the Russian army.

Chinese factories collaborate with Russian defense companies to manufacture the Garpiya drone, which Reuters first publicly reported in September. Experts from China also participated in its design.

The new U.S. restrictions include the Chinese companies Xiamen Limbach Aircraft Engine, which produces L550E engines for the Harpy, and Redlepus Vector Industry Shenzhen, which is an intermediary in the supply of drones to Russia.

It was also reported that since the invasion of Ukraine, China has increased its exports of modern machine tools to Russia, used in the military industry.

These machine tools are crucial to the military industry in Moscow. They enable the quick manufacturing of complicated metal and other hard material components, making them important for defense production.

Russian defense firms like Aeroscan import Chinese-made products, including the Lancet kamikaze drones, which have inflicted significant casualties on Ukrainian forces.

Read also: Sanctions evasion tactics that Russia uses to import weapons components