The US has warned China that it could face further sanctions if it does not abide by the new United Nations sanctions against North Korea.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said “If China doesn’t follow these sanctions, we will put additional sanctions on them and prevent them from accessing the U.S. and international dollar system, and that’s quite meaningful”
The Independent reports:
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The UN Security Council unanimously voted this week to ratchet up sanctions on North Korea following its sixth and largest nuclear test, although the penalties fell short of the sweeping sanctions the Trump administration had demanded.
Both Russia and China, North Korea’s main economic ally, had opposed the US’s call for an oil embargo and other far-reaching sanctions.
The new penalties include a ban on the sale of natural gas to North Korea and limits the amount of refined petroleum sales to the country to two million barrels per year. China, supplies most of North Korea’s crude oil.
“If China doesn’t follow these sanctions, we will put additional sanctions on them and prevent them from accessing the U.S. and international dollar system, and that’s quite meaningful,” Mr Mnuchin said, adding that “economic warfare works”.
Nikki Haley, the US’s ambassador to the UN, on Monday cast the new sanctions as a victory and credited Donald Trump’s relationship with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, as a reason why the 15 council members were able to approve tougher penalties.
