OREANDA-NEWS. China has always opposed illegal unilateral sanctions, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said when asked about the possible imposition of sanctions against Russia. The diplomat stressed that the Chinese authorities have never considered the introduction of restrictions an effective way to resolve conflicts, RIA Novosti reports.

Are you asking if China will impose sanctions on Russia? Obviously, you don't understand the Chinese government's policy enough... China always opposes illegal unilateral sanctions, she said.

The introduction of economic sanctions against Russia was announced earlier by Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison. According to him, the sanctions will also affect eight Russians and banks associated with the military industry.

It was also reported that the United States, if necessary, is ready to impose sanctions against Sberbank and VTB, whose total assets amount to almost $750 billion, a senior US administration official said. He noted that not a single financial institution of the Russian Federation is safe as long as there is a possibility of a continuation of Russia's "invasion" of Ukraine.