China and Russia have one thing in common – the US is targeting both nations with economic sanctions that are designed to undermine their economic growth and to help America compete with them, said Vladimir Putin.

“China has nothing to do with Crimea or Donbass [the issues over which Russia was subjected to Western sanctions]. But the tariffs on their goods, which are de facto sanctions, are growing and growing. There is [also] the attack against Huawei,” Putin said.

Where did it come from and what is its goal? The goal is to hold back development [of a state which] has become a global competitor to another global power, the US. The same thing is happening with Russia and it will continue.

The US and China are currently locked in several conflicts. Washington has subjected Chinese exports to increasingly harsh trade tariffs over the past months, triggering a tit-for-tat response from Beijing. The US is also targeting the Chinese electronics manufacturer Huawei, pressuring other nations to reject the company’s bids to upgrade their communications networks to 5G technology.

The Russian president said this at his annual Q&A session, held on Thursday.

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