On Saturday, China launched a protest of a new round of sanctions levied by Washington against a new group of Chinese businesses for allegedly trying to evade a series of exports controls Washington imposed on Russia.

In a statement, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said the move “has no basis in international law and is not authorized by the United Nations Security Council.” They went on to say it is an illegal measure, noting it will threaten global supply chains.

At the beginning of last week, the US Department of Commerce added five Chinese firms based in mainland China to its “entity list,” which means they are banned from trading with any US company without obtaining a special license.

The new restrictions will apply to Allparts Trading, Avtex Semiconductor, ETC Electronics, Maxtronic International and STK Electronics registered in Hong Kong. All have been deemed to be at “risk of being or becoming involved in activities contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States.” 

The entity list comprises a total of 28 companies so far, chosen to attempt to isolate foreign companies from engaging in Russia-related economic activities by making them choose between having a trade relationship with Russia, or the United States.

In response, China’s Ministry of Commerce issued a statement which read, “It is a typical unilateral sanction and a form of ‘long-arm jurisdiction’ which seriously damages the legitimate rights and interests of enterprises and affects the security and stability of the global supply chain. China firmly opposes this.”

“The US should immediately correct its wrongdoing and stop its unreasonable suppression of Chinese companies. China will resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies.”