China urges EU not to sanction its companies for Russia ties

This was stated by Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning, according to Ukrinform.

She emphasized that China is committed to helping facilitate peace talks between Ukraine and Russia. She also said that Beijing has never supplied weapons to "either side in the conflict," controls the export of goods that could have military uses, and opposes using civilian drones for military purposes.

"China strongly opposes unilateral sanctions that are not based on international law or authorized by the UN Security Council," Ning said. "The normal cooperation between Chinese and Russian companies is not aimed at any third country, and no third party should interfere."

Ning also pointed out that many countries, including in Europe and the U.S., continue to trade with Russia while pressuring China to limit its cooperation.

“We urge the EU to stop applying double standards and unfairly sanction Chinese companies, discrediting China, and shifting the blame onto us,” she added.

• EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell told EU members that intelligence shows China has supplied weapons to Russia for the first time to use against Ukraine.