Arms trade

America Is Striking Back over Russia's Sale of Su-35 Fighters and S-400s to China

China and Russia are reacting with fury after the United States sanctioned Beijing for its purchase of Russian-made Sukhoi Su-35S Flanker-E fighters and S-400 air and missile defense systems.

Washington imposed the sanctions under Section 231 of the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act of 2017 (CAATSA), which was passed by the Congress last summer in response to Russian interference in American elections. Section 231 of the statute mandate the U.S. government to impose of sanctions upon anyone engaging a “significant transaction” with anyone on a list of persons associated with the Russian defense or intelligence sectors.

Sanctions on China

“Secretary [of State Mike]Pompeo and [Treasury] Secretary [Steven] Mnuchin – imposed sanctions on a Chinese entity, the Equipment Development Department, otherwise known as EDD, and also upon its director, Li Shangfu,” a senior Administration official told reporters on September 20. “EDD and Mr. Li are being added to the Treasury’s Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List, which is a complicated way of referring to what we usually just informally call the SDN list.”