WASHINGTON: The United States imposed sanctions on two Chinese citizens and a shipping company on Thursday for helping North Korea 's nuclear and missile programs and accused a Chinese bank of laundering money for Pyongyang.US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said the actions were designed to cut off funds that North Korea uses to build its weapons program. "We will follow the money and cut off the money," he told a news conference.A Treasury statement identified the bank as the Bank of Dandong and the firm as Dalian Global Unity Shipping Co Ltd. However, Mnuchin said the action was not being taken to send China a message. We continue to work with them," he said.China's ambassador to the United States, Cui Tiankai, said China opposed the United States using domestic laws to impose "long-arm jurisdiction" on Chinese companies or individuals, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Friday. It may also cause financial institutions in Western Europe and the United States to further scrutinize whether their Chinese business could have links to North Korea.

Source: Economic Times June 30, 2017 06:56 UTC