China firmly opposes US unilateral sanctions against other countries

BEIJING, July 20 (Xinhua) -- China firmly opposes unilateral sanctions imposed by the United States on other countries in accordance with its domestic laws, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Monday.

Wang Wenbin made the remarks after High Representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell on Friday expressed his concerns over the increasing use of sanctions, or the threat of sanctions, by the United States against European companies and interests.

"We have witnessed this developing trend in the cases of Iran, Cuba, the International Criminal Court and most recently the Nord Stream 2 and TurkStream projects," Borrell said in a statement, adding the EU "considers the extraterritorial application of sanctions to be contrary to international law."

China has taken note of the EU's relevant statement, Wang told a press briefing, stressing that the U.S. side imposes unilateral sanctions and "long-arm jurisdiction" on other countries in accordance with domestic laws.

"This has violated international laws and basic norms of international relations, damaged legitimate and lawful rights and interests of other countries, and gone against people's will," said the spokesperson.

China supports all countries in the world to carry out normal international cooperation in accordance with prevailing international rules, Wang said.