On September 20th, the U.S. imposed sanctions on a Chinese military agency for buying defence equipment from Russia.  The sanctions were applied under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), which was passed in 2017 in response to malign activities by Russia, and it allows anyone found doing business with blacklisted Russian operatives to also face sanctions.  Financial sanctions were placed on China’s Equipment Development Department and its director, Li Shangfu, for purchasing Russian Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets and S-400 surface-to-air missiles from Rosoboronexport, Russia’s main arms exporter. Also, an additional 33 people associated with Russian intelligence and military services were blacklisted.  Both China and Russia have denounced these sanctions as being unfair and there have been concerns about what this expanded use of sanctions could mean for other countries that trade with Russia.

According to the U.S. State Department, the goal of CAATSA was “to impose costs on Russia in response to its interference in the United States election process, its unacceptable behaviour in eastern Ukraine, and other malign activities.” A senior administration official said that the sanctions on China under CAATSA are a “significant step” because it is the first time a third country has been targeted for dealing with Russia. They also said that “CAATSA sanctions in this context are not intended to undermine the defence capabilities of any particular country” and that the ultimate target is Russia.  

A day after the sanctions were put into place, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang responded, saying that the sanctions “seriously violated the basic norms of international relations” since buying fighter jets and missiles was part of normal military exchanges with Russia.  He urged the US to “withdraw the so-called sanctions” or “bear the consequences.” On September 22, the Chinese Foreign Minister summoned the US ambassador to formally protest the sanctions. They also recalled a naval commander from a conference in the US and postponed a meeting between the two countries.  

Russia also criticized the sanctions on the Chinese military, with Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov calling them “unfair competition” being used to “squeeze the main competitor of U.S. makers out of the markets.”  Franz Klintsevich, a Russian politician, said that the U.S. sanctions would not affect their sales of fighter jets and missiles. Instead, by putting sanctions on China the U.S. was undermining global stability and “playing with fire,” according to Sergei Ryabkov, the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister.

The goal of the sanctions on China is to deter countries from buying weapons from Russia.  However, the sanctions seem to just be further hurting U.S.-China relations, with the two countries already entangled in an escalating trade war.  Also, Ian Storey and other security analysts in Asia have suggested the sanctions will only push Moscow and Beijing closer together, because “both countries are opposed to what they see as U.S. bullying.” The U.S. and the EU first imposed sanctions on Russia in 2014 because of the occupation and annexation of Crimea, and the addition of secondary sanctions on countries that interact with Russia suggest that the initial sanctions on Russia are not having their intended effect. Ideally, sanctions should force the adversary to negotiate, not just be a tool used to express displeasure.  

If U.S. sanctions become ubiquitous, it could decrease their effectiveness and even lead to countries finding alternative financial and trading channels.  For example, sanctions on Iran have led to them shifting their trade to the East. The U.S. sanctions on China to punish Russia raise questions about potential impacts on U.S. allies. Russia is the second largest weapons seller, and their customers include U.S. allies, like the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Turkey. Sanctions are most effective when multiple countries work together to enforce them, which won’t work if U.S. allies are worried about being sanctioned themselves.  If concern about the U.S.’ aggressive sanctions motivates allies to develop alternative trading channels, it would undermine the U.S.’ economic power that makes sanctions effective. Sanctions can work, but they need to have clear, achievable goals. Sanctioning a third party to punish Russia has a lot of consequences that need to be considered. Penalizing Russia should not have negative impacts on countries that we need on our side.