After Blinken’s Warning, United States Imposes Sanctions on Over 20 Entities Supporting Russia and China

The ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine has entered its third year. In an effort to evade Western sanctions, including bypassing sanctions through Chinese entities, the U.S. government imposed sanctions on nearly three hundred companies and individuals on Wednesday, May 1st, including more than twenty companies based in China and Hong Kong.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctioned nearly two hundred targets, while the State Department imposed sanctions on over eighty targets.

With multiple warnings issued by the United States against China for supporting the Russian military, Treasury Secretary Yellen and Secretary of State Blinken directly warned top Chinese officials during their recent visit to China to cease support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

During a meeting with Chinese officials in Beijing on April 26th, Blinken directly pointed out that without China’s support, Russia’s attack on Ukraine would be difficult to sustain.

On Wednesday, Yellen stated in a release, “The Treasury Department has consistently warned that companies providing material support for Russia’s war will face serious consequences, and today the United States has fulfilled that warning by targeting nearly three hundred entities.”

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. has been seeking to combat efforts to evade Western sanctions, including imposing sanctions on companies from China, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates.

The Treasury Department’s actions on Wednesday targeted entities in Azerbaijan, Belgium, China, Russia, Turkey, the UAE, and Slovakia, accusing these targets of enabling Russia to “acquire urgently needed technology and equipment from abroad.”

This includes sanctions on several Chinese entities: Henan Anyang Forging CNC Equipment Co., Ltd., Hong Kong China Shipbuilding United Maritime Ltd., Chengdu Weile Technology Co., Ltd., Chongqing Zongshen Aero Engine Manufacturing Co., Ltd., Hong Kong Chao Da Technology Co., Ltd., Hengshui Heshuo Cellulose Ltd., Hengshui Yuanzhan Trading Ltd., Hong Kong Hengbang Microelectronics Ltd., Hong Kong IPM LIMITED, Shenzhen JINMINGSHENG TECHNOLOGY HK CO LIMITED, Juhang Aviation Technology Shenzhen Co., Ltd., Guangzhou Jin Shengyang Technology Co., Ltd., Hong Kong PIXEL DEVICES LIMITED, Hong Kong RG SOLUTIONS LIMITED, Shiva Pei Optoelectronics (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd., Hong Kong SILVER TECHNOLOGY LIMITED, Hong Kong Tu Long International Holdings Co., Ltd., Wuhan Gaoxin Technology Co., Ltd., Wuhan Tongsheng Technology Co. Ltd., Yantai AIRui Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd., Zhongcheng Heavy Defense Technology Shandong Group Co., Ltd., etc.

Among them, Chao Da Technology Co., Ltd. was accused of shipping 293 batches of unmanned aerial vehicle components and other electronic products to Russia; Juhang Aviation Technology Shenzhen Co., Ltd. was accused of providing propellers, signal jammers, sensors, and engines to Russia; and Zhongcheng Heavy Defense Technology Group was accused of supplying quasi-military organization Wagner Group.

For the first time, the Treasury Department also imposed sanctions on manufacturers and suppliers of cotton cellulose and nitrocellulose, raw materials for manufacturing explosives, rocket propellants, and other explosives. Several Russian and Chinese companies were sanctioned for participating in the trade of these materials, with Hengshui Heshuo Cellulose Ltd. and Hengshui Yuanzhan Trading Ltd. accused of shipping large quantities of nitrocellulose to Russia.

In a speech in Beijing on April 8th, Yellen foreshadowed some of the sanctions announced on Wednesday. She stated, “Companies, including those in the People’s Republic of China (Communist China), are prohibited from providing material support for Russia’s war. If they do, they will face serious consequences.”

Yellen also warned that the U.S. could sanction mainland banks involved in “significant transactions to transport military or dual-use goods to Russia.” However, Chinese financial institutions were not included in Wednesday’s sanction announcement.

On Wednesday, the State Department issued a statement saying that in this action, it imposed sanctions on over eighty entities and individuals, including those engaged in activities such as developing Russia’s future energy, metal, and mining production and exports; evading and circumventing sanctions; and enhancing Russia’s capabilities to wage war against Ukraine.

The State Department stated that it imposed sanctions on Chinese entities supporting Russia’s defense industry base. “The United States Department of State is imposing sanctions on several PRC (Communist China) entities involved in developing and supplying dual-use aerospace, manufacturing, and technical equipment for Russian entities. Specifically, these sanctions target manufacturers and exporters of products critical to Russia’s defense industry base, with some companies having shipped goods to Russian entities sanctioned by the United States,” the State Department statement said.

The State Department singled out several Chinese companies:

– Guangzhou Jin Shengyang Technology Co., Ltd., which provides products including electronic integrated circuits supplied to a Russian company specializing in producing and selling military aircraft payloads, such as Russian fighter aircraft weapon control radars.

– Yantai AIRui Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd., providing products such as telescope thermal sights to Russian end-users, including supplying military thermal imaging products to a Russian company.

– Anyang Forging CNC Equipment Co., Ltd., exporting manufactured parts to Russian companies subject to U.S. sanctions. Chongqing Zongshen Aero Engine Manufacturing Co., Ltd. provides products such as aircraft engines to Russian companies.

Furthermore, the State Department also sanctioned companies and individuals suspected of evading sanctions or supporting Russia’s bioweapon program.

The U.S. accused Russia of violating the global chemical weapons ban by deploying chlorine gas to Ukrainian military forces and using riot control agents in Ukraine as a “means of warfare.”

The State Department also targeted Russia’s future capacity to transport liquefied natural gas (LNG), one of Russia’s major export products.

The State Department sanctioned two ship operators involved in the transport technology for Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 project.

Subsidiaries of Russia’s state nuclear power company Rosatom and one of Russia’s largest metallurgical coal producers, Sibanthracite Group, were also targeted for sanctions.

Additionally, the State Department imposed sanctions on three individuals linked to the death of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Navalny, a prominent domestic critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, died in a Russian Arctic prison in February.

Russian authorities claimed Navalny died of natural causes, while his followers believe he was killed by authorities, a claim denied by the Kremlin.

The State Department’s actions on Wednesday targeted responsible officials in the Russian penal colonies where Navalny was imprisoned for most of his sentence, as well as officials involved in the prison’s medical department.