China joins Russia in condemning new US sanctions over North Korea
China and Russia are on the same page regarding US sanctions and North Korea
China has made a statement condemning America’s most recent sanctions targeting individuals and entities in China and Russia alleged to be conducting business with North Korean entities.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying has stated,
“China opposes the imposition of unilateral sanctions outside the framework of the UN Security Council, especially the ‘long-arm jurisdiction’ imposed on Chinese entities or individuals by other countries in accordance with their domestic laws. Our position is clear and consistent”.
Earlier today Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov condemned the new sanctions saying,
“They cannot be adopted endlessly because the aim of the sanctions should be reaching a certain result – in this case, Pyongyang changing its behaviour in missile and nuclear sectors”.
He continued,
“[Sanctions] cannot change reality all by themselves, as they failed to change reality in the situations with Iran’s nuclear program.What should be done to create prerequisites for a political compromise now, including between Pyongyang and Washington, is a separate issue, and the Security Council is definitely falling short in this sphere”.
Both China and Russia remain committed to a joint peace plan for Korea which calls on North Korea to cease its missile tests while calling for South Korea and the United States to cease their own missile tests, military drills in the region and the delivery of THAAD missile systems from the US to Korean soil.
It is becoming increasingly clear that the US sees North Korea as a ‘sideshow’ as Steve Bannon himself stated shortly before leaving the White House under apparently acrimonious conditions.
The real thrust of America’s meddling in East Asia, South East Asia and Eurasia is to try and disrupt China’s economic projects, most crucially the One Belt–One Road. As Russia and China are both key players in One Belt–One Road, American antagonism towards China and Russia is increasingly part of a single dishonest narrative.