The United States faces Chinese sanctions

Last Updated on January 4, 2025 7:24 am

The United States has been hit by Chinese sanctions over alleged arms sales to Taiwan. Sanctions were imposed on 10 defense companies on Thursday.

This is the second time in less than a week that Beijing has taken action against US companies over the same issue.

China’s Ministry of Commerce announced that several companies under Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics and Raytheon have been added to the “unreliable organization list.” The companies are involved in supplying weapons to Taiwan. AFP.

The companies under the ban will not be able to import, export or make new investments in China.

Their top executives will also be banned from entering China. Last Friday, China imposed sanctions on seven US military industrial companies, including Boeing’s subsidiary Insitu, for allegedly providing US military assistance to Taiwan.

Self-ruled Taiwan is a major source of tension between China and Washington. China claims Taiwan as its territory and has said that Beijing will use force if necessary to take control of Taiwan.

In addition, China’s Ministry of Commerce added 28 more US companies to its export control list on Monday, which will impose restrictions on the export of dual-use goods.

The ministry said the move was taken to protect national security and interests as well as to comply with international obligations to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons. The banned companies include General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin Corporation, Boeing Defense, Space and Security.

Although Washington does not diplomatically recognize the democratic island of Taiwan, the United States is its strategic ally and largest arms supplier. Earlier, in December last year, US President Joe Biden agreed to provide 571.3 million US dollars in defense aid to Taiwan.