Senate Bill Could Expand Sanctions on China for Aiding Russia’s War Machine
Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking member Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who's also on the committee, introduced a bill Aug. 1 that could lead to additional sanctions on China for providing dual-use items to Russia’s war against Ukraine.
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The legislation says that while the Biden administration sanctioned a “wide range” of Chinese entities and individuals from June 2022 to January 2025 for supplying dual-use and military goods to Russia, sanctions evasion has allowed the equipment flows to persist. The Severing Technology Transfer Operations and Partnerships Between China and Russia Act, or the Stop China and Russia Act, would target Chinese entities and individuals involved in the ongoing export of weapons and dual-use items to Russia.
The bill also would require the executive branch to develop a strategy to coordinate with allies and partners on export controls, sanctions and other actions to “deter and undermine” China’s support for Russia’s defense industry. Another provision would direct the president to determine whether Chinese arms manufacturers should be sanctioned for supplying weapons and parts to Russia's military.
The senators said that by targeting a key supplier to Russia’s military, their legislation would spur Moscow to negotiate a deal to end its war with Ukraine. “With this bill, we are sending a clear and bipartisan message that Russia cannot wait out Ukraine’s supporters and that the time for peace is now,” Shaheen said.
The senators also said their proposal would complement a bill introduced in April by Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., that would impose a wide range of sanctions on Russia and its supporters if Moscow fails to make peace (see 2504020003).
In July, Shaheen and two other Senate Democrats urged the Trump administration to restart regular updates of sanctions and export controls on Chinese and other entities helping Russia’s war machine (see 2507030033). They said the lack of such updates is “enabling a growing wave” of evaders.