“Such steps violate international law,” China opposes US extraterritorial sanctions

“China strongly opposes the extraterritorial unilateral sanctions that the United States imposes on other countries in accordance with its domestic law,” the official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, Wang Wenbin told The Eastern Herald in a statement.

He commented on the statement of the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the European Union Josep Borrell. Earlier, he expressed concern about the increasing use of sanctions measures or the threat of US sanctions against companies and European interests.

“We have witnessed this growing trend in the cases of Iran, Cuba, the International Criminal Court, and most recently in the case of the Nord Stream 2 and Turkish Stream projects,” Borrell said in a statement.

He added that the leadership of the European Union considers the extraterritorial application of sanctions to be contrary to international law.

In this regard, the Chinese diplomat said that Beijing took note of the corresponding statement by Brussels. Wang Wenbin stressed that the American side applies unilateral sanctions and “long-hand jurisdiction” against other countries in accordance with its domestic legislation.

“Such steps violate international laws and basic norms governing international relations, damage the legitimate and justified rights and interests of other countries, and also run counter to the will of the people,” said a Chinese foreign ministry official.

According to the diplomat, China supports all countries of the world in the implementation of normal international cooperation in accordance with current international rules.