VILNIUS, Lithuania — The European Union on Thursday called on China to revoke sanctions imposed on two Lithuanian banks, arguing there is no justification for them.
Beijing announced the measures this week against Urbo Bank and Mano Bank in retaliation for EU penalties on two Chinese lenders.
The Lithuanian banks do not operate in China, giving Beijing’s move a largely symbolic character. Nonetheless, the tit-for-tat measures underscore deepening tensions between the EU and China over Beijing’s support for Russia in its war on Ukraine.
In this case, China targeted banks from an EU member with whom diplomatic ties have been particularly strained due to Lithuania’s relationship with Taiwan.
At EU headquarters in Brussels, European Commission spokesperson Olof Gill defended the bloc’s sanctions on Chinese banks.
China “must respect the problems we have identified,” Gill said. “Our sanctions are the centerpiece of our efforts to minimize the effectiveness of the Russian war machine.”
He said the Commission does not believe that the Chinese countermeasures “have any justification or are evidence based, and therefore we call on China to remove them even now.”
The EU’s latest Russia sanctions package, adopted in July and effective August 9, included Heihe Rural Commercial Bank and Heilongjiang Suifenhe Rural Commercial Bank. The bloc accused them of providing crypto-asset services that help Moscow evade restrictions.
In explaining its sanctions on the Lithuani