According to a draft list seen by EUobserver on Tuesday, a Chinese businesswoman and four Chinese companies are set to face a comprehensive ban on visas and asset freezes by the European Union.
The report by EUobserver stated that as the geopolitical impact of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine continues to escalate, this marks the first time the EU is including a Chinese-related list in its blacklist against Russia.
The draft list indicates that the 42-year-old Chinese businesswoman exported banned Western technology to Russia via Hong Kong, while the four Chinese companies supplied components and parts for “long-range attack drones” to the Russian military.
Additionally, two Hong Kong-based companies are also set to be included in the blacklist, one for circumventing EU sanctions and the other for selling “microelectronic components.”
If the draft is approved, these Chinese companies and individuals will join over 2,300 Russian individuals and entities that have been sanctioned since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with implementation expected before Christmas at the latest.
The report noted that prior to this development, Chinese and Hong Kong companies or individuals were only included in the EU’s “Russia helpers” grey list, which restricts entities on the list from accessing dual-use military-civilian technologies and imposes heightened financial scrutiny requirements.