China blames NATO for pushing Russia-Ukraine tension to ‘breaking point’

Moves by US-led NATO have pushed tension between Russia and Ukraine to a “breaking point”, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said on Wednesday (Mar 9).

At a daily news briefing, he urged the United States to take China’s concerns seriously and avoid undermining its rights or interests in handling the Ukraine issue and ties with Russia.

He also said China opposed any unilateral sanctions and curbs by the US, and urged that Washington’s policy towards Ukraine and Russia “should not harm China’s rights and interests”.

“China will take all necessary measures to resolutely defend Chinese companies’ and individuals’ rights,” said Zhao.

Chinese companies that defy US restrictions against exporting to Russia may be cut off from American equipment and software they need to make their products, US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told the New York Times earlier.

The US could “essentially shut” down Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC) or any Chinese companies defying US sanctions by continuing to supply chips and other advanced technology to Russia, Raimondo said in an interview published on Tuesday.

Washington is also threatening to add companies to a trade blacklist if they skirt new export curbs against Russia, as it ramps up efforts to keep a vast array of technology out of the country that invaded Ukraine last month.

If the US were to find that a company like SMIC was selling its chips to Russia, “we could essentially shut SMIC down because we prevent them from using our equipment and our software”, Raimondo was quoted as saying.

SMIC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.