China opposes Japan's unilateral sanctions

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying (Photo source: fmprc.gov.cn)

China opposes any unilateral sanctions imposed by any country outside the framework of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Friday.

Spokesperson Hua Chunying said at a daily news briefing that China especially opposes sanctions against Chinese entities and people.

Japan's Cabinet on Friday approved the imposition of new unilateral sanctions on a number of companies and individuals from China, Namibia and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in a bid to further pressure Pyongyang over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

China is comprehensively implementing DPRK-related resolutions of the Security Council, Hua said.

"We oppose unilateral sanctions imposed by any country outside the framework of the Security Council, and in this case we oppose sanctioning Chinese entities and individuals," Hua said.

China is dissatisfied with and strongly opposes Japan's moves, Hua said, urging Japan not to follow in the footsteps of some countries.

What the Japanese side has done has seriously harmed China's interests and brought tremendous political obstacles to China-Japan relations, the spokesperson said.

"If Japan continues to act arbitrarily, it should pay the consequences," Hua said.