Officials from the U.S. Treasury Department visited Hong Kong in June 2023 to urge the central bank, law firms, consultancies, industry groups and financial institutions to make a greater effort to limit the flow of American-made technologies and goods into Russia, according to Nikkei Asia.

The meetings reportedly took place just days before U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Beijing to express “ongoing concerns” that Chinese businesses were supplying Russia with technologies that could be used in the country’s war against Ukraine.

During the June 15 and 16 meetings held by three officials from the Treasury Department’s Office of Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes (TFFC), the U.S. representatives asked banks and regulators to identify high-tech American items that were being shipped to Russia via Hong Kong, according to sources that spoke with Nikkei Asia. Spokespeople for HSBC, Bank of China Hong Kong, the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS), Standard Chartered and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority attended the meeting, according to two of Nikkei Asia’s sources.

Treasury Department officials also met with representatives from the UAE, where commercial activities are supposedly ”fueling” Russia’s war efforts, according to Nikkei Asia's sources.

Several documents were shared during the meetings, including a list of 38 items that were designated as “high-priority dual-use goods” — products that can be used in both civilian and military activities. Treasury Department officials reportedly told attendees that they should improve their due diligence when faced with transactions related to items that could be found on export control lists, the sources said.

"The majority of sensitive dual-use items sent to Russia were of Chinese origins, followed by Taiwan, the EU, Malaysia, the U.S. and Israel,” the document, which was seen by Nikkei Asia, read. “Most of the Chinese goods were sent directly to Russia, as were some third-country-origin goods. Some items, however, were shipped via hubs including Turkey, the EU, the Maldives and the UAE. We request that firms, financial institutions and government regulators work to prevent the shipment or transshipment of the following types of goods to Russia or Russia-linked firms.”

Neither the Treasury Department nor the U.S. Consulate in Hong Kong responded to requests for comment.