US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen ended four days of talks in China with a warning to the country's banks and exporters: if you help strengthen Russia's military capabilities, Washington will come after you. This was reported by Bloomberg.

"I emphasized that companies, including those in China, should not provide material support to Russia's war, and that they will face significant consequences if they do," Yellen said in a statement prepared for a press conference at the US Ambassador's residence in Beijing.

According to her, "any banks that facilitate large transactions that send military or dual-use goods to the Russian defense industry are at risk of US sanctions."

According to Bloomberg, the Biden administration is trying to crack down on firms around the world that help Russia avoid the network of sanctions that the United States and its allies have imposed on Moscow after its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. While China has been the target of past warnings, Yellen's message delivered to the Chinese capital was an unusual direct threat of sanctions.

It came on the day that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrived in Beijing to discuss issues including Ukraine. Although China describes its stance on the war as neutral, trade with Russia has increased dramatically since it began.

America's main weapon against financial institutions is the ability of the Treasury to cut off their access to US dollars, which is a real threat to any bank operating internationally.