China Says It Will Not Interfere in US Sanctions Against the ICC

Beijing (ANTARA) — China has stressed that it is not a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and therefore will not interfere in the United States’ decision to impose sanctions on the institution.

“China is not a state party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. China’s position on relevant issues remains consistent,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a press conference in Beijing on Monday (12 October).

The ICC has 125 states parties to the Rome Statute: 33 from Africa, 19 from the Asia-Pacific, 20 from Eastern Europe, 28 from Latin America and the Caribbean, and 25 from Western Europe and other states. China, the United States and Indonesia are not among them.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Friday (9 October) that the United States was imposing sanctions on the ICC.

In a statement on social media, Rubio said: “We will prohibit transactions with this rogue court, cut off its resources and cripple its ability to operate against us.”

Rubio said the US would continue its campaign to “dismantle” the court until US citizens were no longer at risk. He also called on allies to help “rein in” the ICC.

The US had previously imposed individual sanctions on ICC President Tomoko Akane, a Japanese national, and Abdoulaye Seye, a senior ICC prosecutor from Senegal.

Based in The Hague, the ICC is an independent international court that prosecutes individuals suspected of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression.

The ICC may exercise jurisdiction only when a member state is unable or unwilling to prosecute serious crimes itself.

However, the court’s statute also gives it authority to prosecute nationals of non-member states for crimes committed on the territory of a member state.

Rubio said the ICC could pose a threat to US personnel enforcing the Trump administration’s strict immigration policies or conducting “anti-drug” operations against vessels in international waters, as well as to other US military personnel.

In 2025, the US imposed sanctions on several ICC officials after the court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant over the war in the Gaza Strip.

In July 2026, Rubio said the Trump administration would step up efforts to weaken the ICC, including through a diplomatic campaign to persuade other countries to leave the court.

Chad and Venezuela have followed the US call and withdrawn from the ICC.