China Hits EU Banks Over Bloc’s Russian Sanctions Package

The counter sanction targeted Lithuania-based UAB Urbo Bankas and AB Mano Bankas, after the EU sanctioned two rural Chinese banks.

Flags of China and the European Union are displayed at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, on Jan. 26, 2021. Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Beijing targeted two Lithuanian banks on Aug. 13 in retaliation for the European Union’s latest Russia sanctions that affected two rural Chinese banks near the China–Russia border.

In an order published in state media outlet Xinhua, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said it’s adding Lithuania-based UAB Urbo Bankas and AB Mano Bankas to its list of sanctioned entities under the regime’s Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law.