The former head of the US Treasury said that China needs to take a side on the issue of Ukraine.
China has decided to impose sanctions against Russia together with the United States and Europe.
This information was announced in Washington.
The US stressed that sanctions would be limited, but the White House suggested that Beijing would be ready for tougher measures in the near future.
According to MSNBC, citing White House press Secretary Jen Psaki, China has joined some sanctions, but the United States demands more action from this country.
At the same time, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said that China does not approve of sanctions against Russia.
“China does not support the use of sanctions to solve problems, and moreover opposes unilateral sanctions that have no basis in international law,” he said, answering a question about Beijing’s position on disconnecting Russia from SWIFT.
He demanded that Washington not curtail the legitimate rights of China and other countries in resolving the situation in Ukraine.
The Russian authorities have not yet commented on China’s decision. However, China’s actions to impose sanctions may have a negative impact on the situation.
In turn, the head of the Board of Directors of the National Committee on Relations between the United States and China, Jacob Lew, said that China needs to make a choice and take a certain side in the situation in Ukraine.
He noted that the United States and China got closer many years ago to confront the USSR.
Now the situation threatens to split relations between the United States and China again.
The Chinese authorities need to decide which side to choose, Lew said.
Earlier, topNews wrote that Western countries intend to disconnect a number of Russian banks from SWIFT.
This decision was made by the European Union. It will come into force after it is published in the Official Journal of the EU.
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