The White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan stated that the United States is prepared to impose new sanctions on Chinese entities that support Russia in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, hinting that banks could be targets.
On Friday (July 19), Sullivan said at the Aspen Security Forum, “Overall, the situation is not optimistic. China remains the major supplier of military dual-use goods to Russia’s war machine.”
“It is these tools of weapon manufacturing that are used to kill Ukrainians and oppress Ukraine,” Sullivan said. “We believe that China (CCP) should cease such behavior, as we believe it far exceeds the conduct norms of a nation-state.”
“We are prepared to strengthen sanctions against specific entities and individuals, including those in China,” he said. “As the situation continues to develop in the coming weeks, you can expect to see more sanctions.”
He pointed out that President Biden issued an executive order last year authorizing the Treasury Department to impose sanctions on banks that help the Russian defense industry obtain dual-use goods. Sullivan said the U.S. government will not let these powers become meaningless.
“We issued this order so that when we identify certain banks as sanction targets, we can take action,” Sullivan said.
“Today, I’m not here to predict what will happen, I just want to tell everyone that over time, we have integrated various tools to respond to this behavior. We will also respond to this behavior,” he said.
During the same event, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that 70% of the machine tools imported by the Russian defense industry base are provided by China, and 90% of the microelectronic products are supplied by China.
“China (CCP) can’t have it both ways,” Blinken said. “They can’t say they support peace in Ukraine on one hand while aiding Russia to continue waging war on the other.”
The position of senior officials in the Biden administration coincides with the declaration at the NATO Summit. NATO leaders at the time stated that China is the “decisive accelerator” of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Western allies are increasingly concerned that China may provide lethal assistance to Russia.
It is worth noting that earlier this month, European officials revealed that Chinese and Russian companies are jointly developing an attack drone similar to the Iranian “Witness” drone deployed in Ukraine.
At the meeting, Blinken also mentioned that with the transatlantic, transpacific, and Eurasian partnerships becoming stronger, Beijing is increasingly aware that any destructive action will come with significant costs, including in the Taiwan Strait aggression.
Sullivan also said, “If a war breaks out in Taiwan, in the Taiwan Strait, it will be a disaster for the world, Taiwan, China, the United States, and everyone involved.”
“I believe the fundamental goal of U.S. policy must be to ensure that this situation never occurs,” Sullivan said.
The U.S. official indicated that there are tense signs in the relations between China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea, which cannot be compared to the relationships established with the U.S. and its allies.
“If they want to provoke the United States and our allies, they will abruptly realize what awaits them,” Sullivan said.