China hits back as US Congress approves tariffs on top buyers of Russian energy

Beijing has pushed back after the US Congress passed a bill on Wednesday that would allow US President Donald Trump to sanction Russia and its largest energy importers, including China.In response to a question about the bill, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said Beijing had always opposed “long-arm jurisdiction” lacking a basis in international law and authorisation from the United Nations Security Council.“China has consistently carried out normal economic and trade cooperation with countries around the world on the basis of equality and mutual benefit,” Guo said on Thursday.“Such cooperation neither targets any third party nor is subject to interference or coercion from any third party.”The bill’s passage comes ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s anticipated visit to Washington next week, which would be his first trip to the US since the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in November 2023.Ahead of Xi’s visit, Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent are set to conduct final preparatory talks over the weekend.Since returning to office for his second term early last year, Trump has aggressively deployed tariffs and sanctions as tools of geopolitical leverage. This has included targeting Russia’s defence and energy sectors in an attempt to disrupt Moscow’s ability to fund its war on Ukraine.