BEIJING – China strongly opposed any form of “economic pressure” on Wednesday following US President Donald Trump’s threat to raise tariffs on buyers of Russian oil, including China and India.
Trump suggested during talks with European Union officials that he could impose tariffs ranging from 50 to 100 percent on Russian oil buyers, if the EU agreed to take similar measures.
Responding at a regular press briefing, Chinese ministry spokesman Lin Jian said, “We firmly oppose constantly dragging China into this issue and any so-called economic pressure imposed on our country.”
He emphasized that China is neither responsible for the Russia-Ukraine conflict nor a party to it, and that Beijing has maintained a neutral stance while encouraging peaceful resolutions.
China has close trading ties with Russia and has not condemned its invasion or called for troop withdrawal, instead regularly criticizing Western countries for prolonging the conflict by supplying arms to Ukraine.
The comments come ahead of China’s major military parade, where Russian President Vladimir Putin told President Xi Jinping that bilateral ties had reached an “unprecedented level,” highlighting growing strategic cooperation between the two nations.