China announces countermeasures against two EU banks

Beijing authorities will impose countermeasures against two financial institutions from the European Union (EU), in retaliation for the sanctions recently established by the community bloc against two Chinese banks, Reuters reports.

Thus, UAB Urbo Bankas and AB Mano Bankas will no longer be able to carry out transactions and work with organizations and individuals from China, according to a statement from the Ministry of Commerce in Beijing. Both banks are based in Lithuania, which, since 2021, has been in a diplomatic dispute with Beijing, following the opening of a Taiwanese representative office in Vilnius. At that time, China also imposed trade restrictions on the Baltic state.

The new measures are a direct response to sanctions announced by the EU last month, which targeted Russia, and include two smaller Chinese banks near the Russian border.

"We hope that the EU will value the long-term good cooperative relations between China and the EU bloc and EU member states in the fields of economy, trade and finance," the Ministry of Commerce in Beijing said in a separate statement, urging officials in Brussels to "resolve the irregularities" and stop harming China's interests and undermining China-EU cooperation.

• Suifenhe Rural Commercial and Heihe Rural Commercial included in the 18th package of sanctions against Russia

We recall that in July, the European Union included two Chinese regional banks, Suifenhe Rural Commercial and Heihe Rural Commercial, in the 18th package of sanctions against Russia (in the context of the war in Ukraine). China actively lobbied for the exclusion of the banks, but the EU ignored the threats, implementing the sanctions on August 9, but left open the possibility of their exclusion in six months, provided that support for the Russian army ceases. China at the time considered Brussels' accusations "groundless".

In particular, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi resorted to threats during a meeting with the European Union's high representative for foreign policy, Kaja Kallas, and Ambassador Cai Rong in Brussels told EU officials about "possible consequences", according to UNN.

The European Union ignored Chinese warnings and threats and added the banks to its "blacklist". However, after six months, if the banks in question prove that they have stopped providing support to the Russian military, they can be excluded from the list.