China urges EU to protect rights of Chinese companies

China urged on Monday the European Union to stop undermining the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies based on unfounded accusations, vowing it will take necessary measures to firmly safeguard the lawful rights and interests of its enterprises.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun made the remarks after the EU announced that it would include some Chinese companies and financial institutions in the 18th round of sanctions against Russia.

"China has always opposed unilateral sanctions that have no basis in international law and are not authorized by the United Nations Security Council," Guo told a daily news briefing.

On the Ukraine crisis, Guo said that China has consistently promoted peace talks, exercised strict controls over the export of dual-use items and has never provided lethal weapons to any party to the conflict.

"Normal exchanges and cooperation between Chinese and Russian enterprises should not be interfered with or disrupted," he added.