The United States has slapped sanctions on a Chinese military agency for buying defense equipment from Russia.
US State Department officials said on Thursday it would immediately impose sanctions against China’s Equipment Development Department for engaging in “significant transactions” with Russia’s Rosoboronexport.
Rosoboronexport is Russia’s main arms exporter.
Li Shangfu, the director of Equipment Development Department, which is responsible for supervising defense technology, was included in the sanctions.
China’s purchase from Russia is a breach of a sweeping US sanctions bill enacted in 2017 titled Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, or CAATSA, according to an anonymous source.
Media reported a further 33 people and entities in transaction with Russian military and intelligence agencies were included in the sanctions blacklist.
The US sanctions target Russia only, said a State Department official who…