Ukraine's unfriendly move towards Chinese companies has attracted the attention of the Chinese side. Recently, the National Bureau for the Prevention of Corruption of Ukraine included China Railway Construction Group *** in the list of so-called "sponsors of international wars", pointing out that the company is engaged in bridges, subways and highways in Russia, a claim made by the Ukrainian authorities after the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The Ukrainian side claims that once it is determined that certain companies are helping Russia in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, they will label them as "sponsors of international wars", hoping that this move will prompt international companies to consider their reputational issues and withdraw from their operations in Russia. At a regular press conference, Chinese spokesman Wang Wenbin said that China has always stood on the side of peace and justice, resolutely opposed the inclusion of Chinese companies in the relevant list by relevant Ukrainian institutions, and demanded that the Ukrainian side immediately correct its mistakes and eliminate the negative impact. It is worth noting that this is not the first time that Ukraine has pointed the finger at Chinese companies.
In April, Ukraine's National Bureau for the Prevention of Corruption announced a private Chinese technology company as a so-called "sponsor of an international war" and imposed sanctions on it. The Ukrainian side claims that the Chinese company was included in the list because it is still operating on the territory of Russia after the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and is doing well in the Russian smartphone market. Ukraine's National Service for the Prevention of Corruption claims that a Chinese company has achieved remarkable sales results in its ** stores in Russia since 2018 and has established a large offline sales network throughout Russia. The Ukrainian side also pointed out that the Chinese company is planning to expand the size of its office in Russia, which may mean that it intends to further expand the Russian market. In response to the accusations of the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption of Ukraine, the Chinese company said that the company is a global enterprise and strictly abides by the laws and regulations of its location.
The Chinese company also strongly opposes the Ukrainian side listing it as an "international war sponsor", and expressed its hope for world peace and resolutely does not support the war. At the same time, Ukraine also included Swiss food giant Nestlé in the list of "sponsors of international wars". In addition to Chinese companies, the Ukrainian side also included a number of well-known international companies in this list. In November last year, Ukraine's National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption announced that it had listed Swiss food giant Nestlé as a "sponsor of international wars." The Ukrainian side accused that while Russia was carrying out "aggression", Nestlé continued to operate in Russia, not only supplying goods to the "aggressor", but also expanding its production base in Russia. Before the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Nestlé had six factories in Russia, employing nearly 7,000 people, and the scale of operations was considerable. Despite Nestle's attempts to make its position of distancing itself from Russia, it ended up being the object of concern for Ukraine.
In general, Ukraine's categorization of Chinese companies as "sponsors of international wars" is clearly unreasonable. China has made a clear response, demanding that the Ukrainian side immediately correct its mistakes, eliminate the negative impact, and give the Chinese side a satisfactory answer.