China refuses to join sanctions on Russia: Official

China said Wednesday it refuses to join US and western financial sanctions imposed against Russia.

"We will not join the sanctions, and we will continue our economic, commercial and financial relations with the respective party," Guo Shuqing, chairman of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, said at a news conference.

Guo said China is against unilateral sanctions which do not have a legal basis and do not create a positive effect.

Amid Russia's war against Ukraine, the US, the UK, Canada, the EU and other western allies agreed to impose commercial and financial sanctions against Moscow.

The US and its allies agreed Saturday to remove certain Russian banks from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, or SWIFT -- a global financial transactions and payments system used between banks worldwide.

More than 2,000 civilians have been killed since the start of the war, according to Ukrainian authorities, while the UN Refugee Agency estimates more than 874,000 people have fled Ukraine to neighboring countries.