WSJ learned about US plans to impose sanctions against Chinese banks because of Russia

The United States is working on sanctions that threaten Chinese banks and their work with Russia, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reports, citing sources.

it is unknown which banks we are talking about.

Information about the preparation of restrictions appeared before Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to CHINA . He will visit the republic on April 24–26. As the Financial Times wrote, the HEAD of the State Department intends to warn China that Washington and its allies are becoming increasingly intolerant of Beijing’s refusal to stop supplying technology to Moscow. The newspaper also reported that the United States was considering imposing sanctions on Chinese financial and other organizations.

US sanctions have already affected the work of Chinese banks with Russian clients. In January, BLOOMBERG reported that financial institutions from China decided to reconsider their interaction with Moscow due to a December decree by President Joe Biden. According to it, the Ministry of Finance has the authority to introduce measures against foreign banks working with sanctioned persons from Russia or facilitating the supply of certain materials and equipment to the Russian military-industrial complex.

Izvestia wrote that some Chinese banks (among them the largest Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), China Construction Bank (CCB) and Bank of China and others) stopped accepting certain payments from Russia.

Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui said that the disruptions are due to the fact that some countries are “creating problems” in this area. The diplomat expressed hope that ways to overcome these problems will be found. Presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov confirmed that such problems exist, but they cannot “become an obstacle to the further development” of trade and economic relations between the two countries; there is potential for solving them.

Bloomberg, citing data from Chinese customs, wrote that exports from the republics to Russia in March fell by 16% (year-on-year) for the first time since mid-2022. As the agency noted, the sharp decline in exports occurred against the backdrop of growing sanctions threats from the United States.