US State Secretary to threaten China with sanctions for exporting military technology to Russia – FT

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to warn China that the US will take punitive steps, which may include sanctions on Chinese financial institutions, unless China stops sending military technology to Russia.

Source: The Financial Times

Details: The Financial Times reported that Blinken will tell his counterparts in China when he visits next week that the US and its allies are growing increasingly impatient with Beijing’s refusal to stop providing Moscow with equipment it needs to rebuild its industrial base.

Senior US officials said last week that 70% of the machine tools that Russia imported in the last quarter of 2023 were from China and were "likely used" to produce ballistic missiles.

"Blinken does not plan to reveal what measures the US will take, but several people familiar with the situation said it is considering sanctions on Chinese financial institutions and other entities," the FT reported.

A source told the FT that Blinken’s message would be the clearest warning yet that the US has delivered in person to Chinese officials.

Background:

• The Mexican federal government, under pressure from the United States, has refused to grant concessions such as cheap state land or low taxes to Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers.
• Chinese President Xi Jinping said after a meeting with Olaf Scholz that German-Chinese cooperation is an opportunity, not a risk.
• China’s GDP grew by 5.3% year on year in the first quarter of 2024, exceeding the Chinese government’s 2024 growth target of around 5%.

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