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China criticises US sanctions bill targeting Russia trade

Beijing states new US measures lack legal basis and violate international law.

AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made

Published Updated
Китай жестко ответил на санкции против России

What this story says

  • The US Congress has passed a bill allowing President Trump to impose tariffs of up to 100% on countries buying Russian energy or aiding Russia in evading sanctions.
  • China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated the sanctions lack legal basis and violate international law, asserting that economic cooperation should not be disrupted by third parties.
  • The bill also includes sanctions against Russian officials, banks, and the shadow fleet, and extends existing sanctions against Iran.
  • China and India are identified as major buyers of Russian energy who could be significantly affected by the new tariffs.

Who covered it

Left 33%(11)Centre 25%(8)Right 42%(14)

Percentages are shares of the 33 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 33 of the 66 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .

Trust

50/100

Craft

60/100

Hype

40/100

66 sources · methodology

Missing from the left

Only 11 of the 33 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated left.

A reader who follows the left would not have seen this. We report the absence rather than explain it: outlets choose what to cover for many reasons, and we have no evidence about which one applies here.

The United States Congress has approved a bill that authorises President Trump to impose tariffs of up to 100% on countries that purchase Russian energy or assist Russia in circumventing sanctions. The legislation also targets Russian officials, banks, and the country's shadow fleet, while extending sanctions against Iran. China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has publicly stated that these new US sanctions against Russia are without legal foundation and contravene international law. A spokesperson for China's foreign ministry, Guo Jiakun, said that China's economic cooperation with other nations is built on equality and mutual benefit and should not be interfered with by any third party.

Disagreement on the bill's scope

Reports differ on the specific details of who the sanctions target. RBC.ua stated the bill includes sanctions against Russian officials, banks, and the shadow fleet, and extends sanctions against Iran. ZN.UA reported the bill provides for direct sanctions against Russian high-ranking officials, including Vladimir Putin, and companies, as well as measures against Russian oil and gas exports. Anadolu Ajansı reported that Beijing "always opposes long-arm jurisdiction that has no basis in international law or authority of UN Security Council."

What the coverage left out

None of the left, centre, or right-rated reports mention the specific figure of $240 billion for bilateral trade between China and Russia in 2024, as reported by ZN.UA.

Coverage settled. We checked this 8 times and stopped on 22 Sept 2026, 17:45. The figures above are what it finished at.

How other outlets pictured it

Which photograph to run is each newsroom’s own choice. The leaning beside a name is that outlet’s published rating, not a claim that the pictures divide along it. Every picture is shown from the outlet’s own server and links to the article it ran in.

China criticises US sanctions bill targeting Russia trade
ZN.UA Зеркало неделиCentre

How each side covered it

Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.

Left

11 rated outlets

  • All seven left‑rated outlets reported that China rejected the U.S. sanctions bill, describing it as illegal, unilateral and an exercise of extraterritorial jurisdiction. They noted that the legislation would let the United States impose tariffs of up to one hundred percent on any country buying Russian oil or gas, and that China and India, as large purchasers, would feel the impact.
  • The full report from rbc.ua quoted Chinese foreign‑ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun, who said China’s trade is based on equality and mutual benefit and that the sanctions lack a UN mandate. It also included a comment from Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov calling the measure unfriendly, identified the late Senator Lindsey Graham as the bill’s author, and gave the House vote tally. The Hindu digest highlighted sovereign trade without third‑party interference, while Global Times and Deccan Herald digests repeated the claim of illegal unilateral sanctions and warned of coercion to energy security.
  • Only rbc.ua supplied the specific congressional vote count and named President Donald Trump as the next signatory; the other left‑rated digests omitted those details. None of the left digests mentioned the Senate’s earlier approval date or the extension of sanctions to Iran.

Centre

8 rated outlets

  • The centre-rated reports from ZN.UA, South China Morning Post, and Hindustan Times focused on China's opposition to the US sanctions bill. ZN.UA reported that China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that bilateral trade relations "should not be disrupted" by any third party and that China opposes extraterritorial jurisdiction lacking international legal basis or UN Security Council mandate. The report noted the bill allows President Trump to impose tariffs of up to 100% on major buyers of Russian oil, potentially affecting China and India. It also mentioned India's warning to the US about potential damage to bilateral relations and Russia's reaction that the sanctions would complicate peace efforts. South China Morning Post's digest stated Beijing pushed back after Congress passed a bill allowing sanctions on Russia and its largest energy importers, including China, authorising tariffs of up to 100 per cent on the top five importers of Russian oil and natural gas. Hindustan Times' digest reported China opposes the US sanctions bill and will not accept 'long-arm jurisdiction'.

Right

14 rated outlets

  • The right-rated reports from Berliner Morgenpost, India Today, vz.ru, news-pravda.com, and Anadolu Ajansı highlighted China's opposition to the US sanctions bill and its potential impact. Berliner Morgenpost's digest noted the US Congress passed a sanctions package against Russia, with China and India under pressure. India Today's digest stated China condemned the US sanctions bill targeting Russia trade partners like India, sharpening tensions over unilateral penalties and Beijing's growing energy ties with Moscow. Vz.ru's digest reported the PRC's foreign policy agency rejected attempts by third countries to interfere in Beijing and Moscow's trade and economic partnership. News-pravda.com's digest quoted Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun saying China's cooperation with other countries should not be subject to interference from third parties. Anadolu Ajansı's digest stated Beijing opposes long-arm jurisdiction that has no basis in international law or UN Security Council authority.

Questions about this coverage

How did the left and right cover China criticises US sanctions bill targeting Russia trade?
Of the 33 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 33% are rated left, 25% are rated centre, 42% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 66. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
Is China criticises US sanctions bill targeting Russia trade left or right?
Neither side dominates it. Of the 33 rated outlets on this story, 33% are rated left, 25% are rated centre, 42% are rated right, and no side holds the 70% this site would want before calling a field one-sided. A story is not left or right in any case; the outlets that carried it are what carry ratings.
Is the coverage of China criticises US sanctions bill targeting Russia trade biased?
China criticises US sanctions bill targeting Russia trade is one event reported by 66 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
Which side is not reporting China criticises US sanctions bill targeting Russia trade?
When we first saw this story, outlets rated left had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
Which outlets covered China criticises US sanctions bill targeting Russia trade?
66 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
What does the new US sanctions bill allow President Trump to do?
The bill allows President Trump to impose tariffs of up to 100% on countries that purchase Russian energy or help Russia evade sanctions. It also includes sanctions against Russian officials, banks, and the shadow fleet, and extends existing sanctions against Iran.
What is China's official response to the US sanctions bill?
China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the new US sanctions against Russia lack legal basis and violate international law. A spokesperson said China's economic cooperation is based on equality and mutual benefit and should not be disrupted by third parties.
Which countries are identified as potentially affected by the new tariffs?
China and India are identified as major buyers of Russian energy who could be significantly affected by the new tariffs. The bill authorises tariffs on the top five importers of Russian oil and natural gas.
What has Russia's reaction been to the US sanctions bill?
Russia's Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov called the bill an 'unfriendly step'. Reports suggest the potential imposition of additional US sanctions would complicate efforts to find a peaceful resolution to the war in Ukraine.

Read it at the source

66 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.

Left

11
Show 3 more

Centre

8

Right

14
Show 6 more

Not rated

33
Show 25 more

How did this read?

About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.

US Russia sanctions bill | MediaBias News