China warns of ’countermeasures’ if legitimate interests affected, repeats opposition to sanctions

AFP: According to the readout of State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s call with Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares, China doesn’t want to be affected by western sanctions on Russia. Could you provide any more details on what “affected” means in this context? Was the foreign minister warning countries against imposing new sanctions on China? Was he saying that China opposes any indirect effects of the current sanctions on its own economy or was he saying something else?  Zhao Lijian: We have released the relevant readout. China’s position on opposing sanctions is clear. The US lately has made many provocative remarks about China. For example, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that China will face significant consequences if China supports Russia’s “invasion”. She also said that China and Russia “only make up 15 to 20 percent of the world’s economy. The G7 countries make up more than 50 percent. So there are a range of tools at our disposal in coordination with our