On Wednesday, the Chinese government announced sanctions under its Anti-Foreign Sanction Law on 10 US defence executives and 12 firms. The move was in response to America’s “economic coercion” against Chinese firms, as well as the sale of arms from the US to Taiwan, where May 1st saw America placing sanctions on hundreds of firms related to Russia’s weapon development program.
The retaliatory sanctions would freeze all the assets of the included businesses and forbid any business between them and other Chinese businesses, such as making new investments or importing goods into the country. They would simultaneously deny its people and their immediate family visas to enter the country, including Macau and Hong Kong.
“The US… has indiscriminately imposed unlawful and unilateral sanctions against a number of Chinese entities… while (it) continues to sell arms to the Taiwan region,” stated Beijing’s foreign ministry upon announcing the sanctions, adding that the sale of arms to Taiwan “seriously (violate) the one-China principle…, seriously (interfere) in China’s internal affairs and seriously (undermine) China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
Lai Ching-te’s inauguration as the President of Taiwan on Monday, under the backdrop of increasingly warm relations between Taiwan and the US, has also caused further dissatisfaction for Beijing, who claimed Lai a “dangerous separatist,” bringing “war and decline” to the island.
China also noted the accusations of Sino-Russian ties among its companies as a reason for its retaliatory sanctions. Among the US companies and executives affected include units of General Dynamics, Raytheon and Lockheed Martin. It also includes defence companies Space and Security and Boeing Defense over their sale of arms to Taiwan.
While China has long opposed America’s sale of arms to Taiwan, American federal law requires the government of Taiwan to be capable of defending itself and the island. It should also be noted that while Washington swapped its diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979, the US continues to remain the largest arms supplier for Taiwan.
