China strongly deplores and firmly rejects the UK's unilateral sanctions that lack any basis in international law and are not authorized by the UN Security Council, a spokesperson from China's Ministry of Commerce said on Monday in response to the UK Foreign Office's February 24 announcement of a new round of Russia-related sanctions, involving multiple Chinese companies.

The UK has repeatedly placed Chinese companies on its sanctions list over Russia-related issues, and China firmly opposes these unilateral measures, according to a post on the MOFCOM website.

On the issue of the Ukraine crisis, China has been strictly controlling the export of dual-use items in accordance with relevant laws and regulations. Normal exchanges and cooperation between Chinese and Russian companies should not be interfered with or disrupted, the spokesperson said.

China urges the UK to immediately correct its wrongdoings and revoke the sanctions on relevant Chinese entities to safeguard the positive momentum in China-UK relations, said the MOFCOM spokesperson.

China will take necessary measures to protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies, the spokesperson stressed.