BEIJING – In a tit-for-tat response to the European Union’s latest round of Ukraine-related sanctions targeting Chinese firms, China announced new export restrictions on 14 European entities this Friday. The country’s Ministry of Commerce confirmed in an official statement that all Chinese domestic enterprises will be prohibited from shipping dual-use goods – components and technologies that have both civilian and military applications – to the blacklisted European organizations. The restrictions also extend to foreign firms, which are banned from supplying China-manufactured dual-use items to the targeted entities.
The affected European companies span multiple industrial sectors across the continent, including Tatra Trucks, a well-known Czech vehicle manufacturer; Lafert SpA, an Italian producer of electric motors; Sindlhauser Materials GmbH, a German manufacturing firm; and Cavok UAS, a French drone producer.
A ministry spokesperson clarified that the countermeasures directly follow the EU’s decision one day prior, when the bloc added 14 Chinese enterprises from mainland China and Hong Kong to its latest round of sanctions targeting Russia over its ongoing military campaign in Ukraine. The EU’s 21st package of sanctions, adopted Thursday, broadens restrictions to cover Russian banks, cryptocurrency firms, military equipment producers, and entities from third countries that the bloc alleges are supplying dual-use goods and technology to Russia to support its war effort. Beyond Chinese firms, entities based in India and Turkey were also included in the latest round of penalties.
The spokesperson emphasized that China’s newly announced measures are necessary to “safeguard national security and interests, and to fulfill international obligations such as non-proliferation,” in response to what the country calls the EU’s “egregious actions.” The development marks a sharp escalation of trade and diplomatic tensions between Beijing and Brussels, rooted in the EU’s approach to sanction enforcement amid the Ukraine war.