China said it "firmly opposes" of a US bill that could impose sanctions on buyers of Russian oil and which already enjoys the support of President Donald Trump, reported Agence France-Presse, BTA reported.
Four senators from the Republican and Democratic parties announced on Friday that they had received approval from the White House to continue work on these new sanctions in Congress, which have so far been blocked by the US president, and indicated that the updated version of the text will be announced in the near future.
"China firmly opposes illegal unilateral sanctions that have no basis in international law and are not approved by the UN Security Council", Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jiang said at a regular press conference.
China, which is one of the largest buyers of Russian oil, accused Washington of pursuing a policy of "double standards" and that it is resorting to "coercion".
Beijing "will take all necessary measures to resolutely protect the legitimate rights and interests of its enterprises and citizens," Lin said.
This US bill, if passed, would give Donald Trump the authority to impose tariffs and sanctions on countries that continue to buy Russian hydrocarbons — a crucial source of revenue for Moscow.
A previous proposal called for US tariffs of up to 500 percent on imports from countries that buy Russian oil, gas, uranium and other goods.
This development comes at a time when Donald Trump appears increasingly frustrated with Moscow's inability to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, which began with Russia's invasion of the country in 2022.
However, the bill's swift passage is not guaranteed, and the White House has not yet commented publicly on the subject, AFP notes.
However, its unblocking by the executive branch removes a serious political obstacle to a vote on the text in Congress, where there is bipartisan support for the text.