US sanctions China for buying Russian fighter jets

Su-35 fighter jet. Photo: Cri.cn

The US government on September 20 announced the decision to sanction the Equipment Development Department (EDD) of the Chinese Ministry of National Defense because the EDD's arms purchases with Russia violated Washington's sanctions against Moscow. Both EDD and EDD Director Li Shangfu were placed on the US sanctions list.

A senior US official said the sanctions were in response to Russia's "malign" actions, a reference to Moscow's alleged interference in the 2016 US election and its military intervention in eastern Ukraine.

According to a statement from the US State Department, the sanctions were issued under the 2017 Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), which allows sanctions against any entity that conducts transactions with individuals or organizations that are on the US sanctions list.

This means that Washington could sanction third countries that cooperate with Moscow in the defense sector.

“These transactions include the transfer of Su-35 fighter aircraft and equipment related to the Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile system to China,” the US State Department said in a statement.

The statement said China received 10 Su-35 aircraft in December 2017 and the first batch of S-400-related equipment this year. The statement said the EDD had negotiated and executed the transactions with Russia’s main arms exporter, Rosoboronexport.

The US sanctions will prohibit EDD from applying for export licenses, engaging in foreign transactions under US law, or using the US financial system.

The EDD director is also banned from using the US financial system and conducting transactions with foreign countries, and is not granted a US visa.

The EDD was established by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2016 with the mission of supervising and improving China's military technology. The EDD is a key unit of China's Central Military Commission.

This is the second time in as many weeks that the US has continued to sanction Chinese agencies and organizations. Previously, on September 14, the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control also announced sanctions against technology development companies in China owned and managed by North Koreans.

Also on September 19, the US government imposed sanctions on 33 Russian officials. A spokesman for the US Secretary of State said these officials work for the benefit of Russian intelligence agencies and defense industry. They were sanctioned under the provisions of the CAATSA law.

The latest US sanctions move is expected to increase tensions between the US and China amid the ongoing trade war between the world's two leading economies.

However, a US State Department official said that the “ultimate goal” of the sanctions that the US imposed on China was to target Russia in retaliation against Moscow.