US sanctions seen as 'wrong behavior'

US sanctions imposed this week go against mutual trust and bilateral cooperation, China said on Wednesday, asking the United States to stop its "wrong behavior" immediately.

The US Treasury Department announced on Tuesday the new sanctions on 16 entities and individuals, mostly in China and Russia, for alleged ties with the nuclear and ballistic missile programs in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

The sanctions came less than two months after sanctions June 29 by the US Treasury Department on a bank, a shipping company and two individuals from China.

"What the US has done does not help the solution of the issue, and does not help mutual trust between China and the US and their cooperation on relevant issues," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters at a daily news conference in Beijing. "We request the US to immediately stop the wrong behavior."

China is opposed to unilateral sanctions conducted outside the framework of the United Nations Security Council, especially "long-arm jurisdiction" over China's entities or individuals according to others' domestic laws, Hua said.

China has implemented the Security Council's DPRK-related resolutions fully, and the effort it has made "is obvious to all", Hua said.

China will hold its companies and individuals accountable under Chinese laws if they are suspected of behaving against the resolutions, the spokeswoman said.

China and Russia have proposed a dual suspension plan in which the US and the ROK halt large-scale joint military drills while the DPRK halts nuclear and missile tests to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

The US Treasury Department's announcement on Tuesday came a day after the US and ROK began their annual Ulchi-Freedom Guardian military drills. The DPRK threatened a "merciless strike" ahead of the drills.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson hinted at the possibility of talks. He said in a news briefing on Tuesday he was "pleased" to see the DPRK had "demonstrated some level of restraint" by launching no missiles since the Aug 5 UN Security Council resolution.

"We hope that ... we are seeing our pathway to sometime in the near future having some dialogue," he said.

Commenting on Tillerson's remarks, Hua said China hopes all parties involved will "stand up to their own responsibility, express good will to each other" and "actively conduct contact and dialogue".

Huang Youfu, a researcher of Korean history and culture at Minzu University of China, said war on the Korean Peninsula would lead to "disaster", and many countries have realized that China's proposal for talks is the only solution.