• China has not evaded sanctions or sent military supplies to Russia, US official says.
• Enforcement steps taken earlier in the week targeted Chinese firms and not the Chinese government.
• Commerce Department placed five Chinese companies on a trade blacklist for allegedly aiding Russia’s military.

WASHINGTON: The United States has not observed China evading sanctions or supplying Russia with military weapons, a senior US official said on Thursday, adding that enforcement steps taken earlier in the week targeted Chinese firms and not the Chinese government.

On Tuesday, the Commerce Department placed five Chinese companies on a trade blacklist for allegedly aiding Russia’s military and defence industrial base as Moscow fights in Ukraine.

US officials have said that China will be punished if it gives material support to Russia’s war effort, but they say they haven’t seen any clear military or economic support from China for Moscow.

“China is not providing material support. This is normal course-of-business enforcement action against entities that have been backfilling for Russia,” a senior Biden administration source told an international news agency.

Under the condition that he or she could not be named, the official said, “We haven’t seen the PRC (People’s Republic of China) avoid or send military supplies to Russia in a systematic way.”

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The U.S. and allies are punishing Russian President Vladimir Putin for the invasion, which Moscow calls a “special operation,” by sanctioning Russian corporations and billionaires and blacklisting others.

China has declined to condemn Russia’s conduct and has condemned Western sanctions against Moscow.

Beijing also asserts that it has not supplied military aid to Russia or Ukraine, but that it will take “necessary measures” to preserve the rights of its companies.

The Commerce Department’s decision necessitates that US suppliers obtain a licence before shipping products to listed companies.

However, the agency also targeted dozens of additional businesses, some of which were located in allies such as the United Kingdom and Lithuania.

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