China Will Not Join Sanctions on Russia, Banking Regulator Says

Guo Shuqing, Chairman of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC), attends a news conference in Beijing, China, March 2, 2021. (Reuters)
Guo Shuqing, Chairman of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC), attends a news conference in Beijing, China, March 2, 2021. (Reuters)
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China Will Not Join Sanctions on Russia, Banking Regulator Says

Guo Shuqing, Chairman of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC), attends a news conference in Beijing, China, March 2, 2021. (Reuters)
Guo Shuqing, Chairman of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC), attends a news conference in Beijing, China, March 2, 2021. (Reuters)

China will not join in sanctions on Russia that have been led by the West, the country's banking regulator said on Wednesday, adding that he believed the impact of the measures on China would be limited.

China, which has refused to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine, has repeatedly criticized what it calls illegal and unilateral sanctions.

"As far as financial sanctions are concerned, we do not approve of these, especially the unilaterally launched sanctions because they do not work well and have no legal grounds," Guo Shuqing, chairman of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, told a news conference.

"We will not participate in such sanctions. We will continue to maintain normal economic and trade exchanges with relevant parties," he said.

China and Russia have grown increasingly close in recent years, including as trading partners. Total trade between the two jumped 35.9% last year to a record $146.9 billion, according to Chinese customs data, with Russia serving as a major source of oil, gas, coal and agriculture commodities, running a trade surplus with China.

"The impact from the sanctions on China's economy and financial sector is so far not too significant," Guo added.

"Overall they will not have much impact (on China) even in the future," Guo said, citing the resilience of China's economy and financial sector.



Türkiye Protesters Defiant Despite Mass Arrests 

Police officers stand guard as people take part in a protest against the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu as part of a corruption investigation, in Istanbul, Türkiye, March 25, 2025. (Reuters)
Police officers stand guard as people take part in a protest against the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu as part of a corruption investigation, in Istanbul, Türkiye, March 25, 2025. (Reuters)
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Türkiye Protesters Defiant Despite Mass Arrests 

Police officers stand guard as people take part in a protest against the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu as part of a corruption investigation, in Istanbul, Türkiye, March 25, 2025. (Reuters)
Police officers stand guard as people take part in a protest against the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu as part of a corruption investigation, in Istanbul, Türkiye, March 25, 2025. (Reuters)

Protesters were defiant Wednesday despite a growing crackdown and nearly 1,500 arrests as they marked a week since the start of Türkiye’s biggest street demonstrations since 2013.

The protests erupted on March 19 after the arrest of Istanbul opposition mayor Ekrem Imamoglu as part of a graft and "terror" probe, which his supporters denounced as a "coup".

Vast crowds have hit the street daily, defying protest bans in Istanbul, the capital Ankara and Izmir with the unrest spreading across the country.

In a possible shift in tactics, the main opposition Republican People's (CHP) party said it was not calling for another nightly protest Wednesday outside the Istanbul mayor office for people to attend a mega rally on Saturday.

But it was far from certain that angry students, who have taken an increasingly prominent role in the protests and are far from all CHP supporters, would stay off the streets.

Most nights, the protests have turned into running battles with riot police, whose tough crackdown has alarmed rights groups. But there were no such clashes on Tuesday, AFP correspondents said.

By Tuesday afternoon, police had detained 1,418 people, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said.

Among them were 11 Turkish journalists covering the protests, seven of whom were remanded in custody on Tuesday, including AFP photographer Yasin Akgul.

The move was sharply denounced by rights groups and the Paris-based news agency, which said the 35-year-old's jailing was "unacceptable", demanding his immediate release.

Imamoglu, 53, who himself was jailed on Sunday, is seen as the only politician capable of defeating Türkiye’s longtime leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the ballot box.

Addressing the vast crowds gathered for a seventh straight night at Istanbul City Hall, opposition leader Ozgul Ozel said the crackdown would only strengthen the protest movement.

"There is one thing that Mr. Tayyip (Erdogan) should know: our numbers won't decrease with the detentions and arrests, we will grow and grow and grow!" he vowed.

The extent of the crackdown, he said, meant there was "no room left in Istanbul's prisons".

His words came shortly after the interior minister warned there would be "no concessions" for those who "terrorize the streets".

So far, the courts had jailed 172 for "provoking recent social events, being involved in violence, hiding their faces with masks and using sticks", the Anadolu state news agency.

It said 35 others had been granted conditional release, and one was freed.

Overnight, there were reports of dozens more arrests, according to posts on X by unions and youth movements, although there was no immediate update from the interior ministry.

Erdogan himself has remained defiant a week into the protests, denouncing the rallies as "street terror".

"Those who spread terror in the streets and want to set fire to this country have nowhere to go. The path they have taken is a dead end," said Erdogan, who has ruled the NATO member for a quarter of a century.

Although the crackdown has not reduced the numbers, the vast majority of students who joined a huge street rally on Tuesday had their faces covered, an AFP correspondent said.

"We want the government to resign, we want our democratic rights, we are fighting for a freer Türkiye right now," a 20-year-old student called Mali told AFP.

"We are not terrorists, we are students and the reason we are here is to exercise our democratic rights and to defend democracy."

Like most protesters, his face was covered and he refused to give his surname for fear of reprisals.

Another masked student called Lydia, 25, urged more people to hit the streets, saying the protesters were being hunted down "like vermin".

"All Turkish people should take to the streets, they are hunting us like vermin (while) you are sitting at home. Come out, look after us! We are your students, we are your future," she said, her anger evident.

Unlike previous days, the CHP's Ozel said there would be no rally at City Hall on Wednesday, but called protesters to rally instead on Saturday in the Istanbul district of Maltepe to demand early elections.