BEIJING: China sanctioned 10 U.S. defense companies on Thursday over their arms sales to Taiwan, its second round of measures against U.S. companies over the issue in less than a week.
Subsidiaries of Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics and Raytheon that had “participated in arms sales to Taiwan” have been added to China’s “unreliable entity list,” the country’s Commerce Ministry announced Thursday.
They will be prohibited from carrying out import and export activities or making new investments in China, while their senior executives will be barred from entering the country, the ministry said.
Last Friday, China announced sanctions against seven US military-industrial companies, including Boeing subsidiary Insitu, also due to US military assistance to Taiwan.
The self-governing island is a key point of contention between Beijing and Washington.
China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has said it will not renounce the use of force to bring it under its control.
Washington does not diplomatically recognize the democratic island but is its strategic ally and its largest arms supplier.
In December, US President Joe Biden agreed to provide $571.3 million in support for Taiwan’s defense.
These actions “interfere in China’s internal affairs and undermine China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said at a regular press conference last Friday. .
China has stepped up pressure on Taiwan in recent years and has held three rounds of major military exercises since President Lai Ching-te took power in May.
China’s Commerce Ministry also added 28 U.S. entities, mostly defense companies, to its export control list on Thursday, banning them from exporting dual-use items.
General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin Corporation and Boeing Defense, Space & Security are among the companies added “to safeguard national security and interests and fulfill international obligations such as non-proliferation,” the ministry said.
