Beijing warns EU after 27 Chinese firms included in 20th Russia sanctions package, retaliates against European defence companies

TL;DR China condemned the EU’s 20th sanctions package, which designated approximately 27 Chinese and Hong Kong entities for supplying dual-use goods to Russia’s military-industrial complex. Beijing retaliated within 24 hours by placing seven EU defence firms on its own export control list, framing the move as a Taiwan issue rather than acknowledging the Russia connection. The EU is caught in a structural contradiction: its sanctions policy requires restricting Chinese tech flows to Russia, but its defence buildup depends on Chinese rare earth magnets and critical minerals that Beijing can restrict in return. China’s Ministry of Commerce issued a formal condemnation…