China rejects US investigation into uranium exports

BEIJING/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – China’s government on Wednesday dismissed a U.S. investigation into whether China is helping its neighbor Russia circumvent a U.S. ban on Russian uranium imports, saying Beijing has always opposed “illegal unilateral sanctions.”

Reuters reported in an exclusive on Tuesday that the U.S. Department of Energy and other relevant agencies are closely monitoring imports from China to “ensure proper implementation” of the ban on Russian enriched uranium signed into law by President Joe Biden in May.

The United States fears that China is importing and using uranium from Russia in its power plants, then exporting domestically produced uranium to the United States — effectively undermining a U.S. ban aimed at depriving Moscow of revenue from its invasion of Ukraine.

China’s foreign ministry responded to questions from Reuters by saying that “China has always opposed any illegal unilateral sanctions and ‘long arm jurisdiction.’” The comments did not include a denial that the shipments could circumvent the ban.

“China-Russia cooperation is an independent choice made by two sovereign countries based on their development needs, openly and honestly, without turning to third parties and without interference or obstruction from third parties,” the ministry said.

The statement stressed that China is ready to continue “normal economic and trade cooperation” with countries around the world, including Russia.

China’s comments reflect tensions between Washington and Beijing over Russia’s war with Ukraine. The U.S. ban, which completely blocks imports from Russia’s state-owned nuclear company through 2028, is part of a series of sanctions imposed on Moscow over the war with Ukraine.

The increase in enriched uranium shipments from China and the potential circumvention of the ban have also worried the U.S. uranium fuel supply industry, which received $2.7 billion in additional public funding thanks to the Russian law banning imports.

The United States has several options to oppose shipments if it finds China is circumventing the ban, though each could take time. It could either raise tariffs on enriched uranium imports from China, which currently stand at 7.5%, or Congress could expand the ban on uranium from Russia to include China.

(Reporting by Timothy Gardner in Washington and Ryan Woo in Beijing; editing by David Evans)