China says it won’t join in financial sanctions on Russia

BEIJING (AP) — China’s chief bank regulator says his government won’t join the United States and European governments in imposing financial sanctions on Russia. China is a major buyer of Russian oil and gas and the only major government that has refrained from criticizing Moscow’s attack on Ukraine. Guo Shuqing, the chairman of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, said Beijing disapproves of the sanctions, which it believes lack a legal basis and “will not have a good effect.” He said China will “keep normal economic, trade and financial exchanges with all the relevant parties.”