Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning

A spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry urged EU to refrain from applying double standard and stop listing Chinese companies, smearing China and shifting the blame to China without providing any factual basis, in response to the European Union's proposal that it'll sanction several Chinese firms that it claims helped Russian companies develop attack drones that were deployed against Ukraine.

China firmly opposes unilateral sanctions that have no basis in international law or authorization of the UN Security Council. On the Ukraine issue, China is committed to promoting talks for peace. China has never provided weapons to parties to the conflict and strictly controls the export of dual-use articles, even drones for civilian use, and opposes using civilian drones for military purposes, spokesperson Mao Ning said on Tuesday.

The EU is proposing to sanction several Chinese firms it claims helped Russian companies develop attack drones that were deployed against Ukraine, Bloomberg News reported on Monday.

The G7 foreign ministers, who are meeting in Italy on Monday and Tuesday, are expected to vow "appropriate measures consistent with our legal systems, against actors in China and in other third countries" who are supporting Russia, according to an early draft of the communique seen by Bloomberg.

Communiques are often changed before the final version is published and tweaks could still be made to the wording, Bloomberg said. 

The normal exchanges and cooperation between Chinese and Russian companies do not target any third party, and should not be disrupted or interfered with by any third party, Mao said at Tuesday's press briefing.

"As we speak, most countries, including European countries and the US, carry out trade with Russia. We urge the EU to refrain from applying double standard and stop listing Chinese companies, smearing China and shifting the blame to China without providing any factual basis," Mao said. 

China will do what is necessary to firmly defend the lawful rights and interests of Chinese companies, the spokesperson added.

Global Times