China sanctions seven companies in retaliation for US military aid to Taiwan

Beijing. The Chinese government on Friday sanctioned seven companies in response to recent US announcements of military sales and aid to Taiwan, the autonomous island that China claims as part of its territory.

The sanctions also come in response to the recent approval of the US government’s annual defense spending bill, which a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement said “includes several negative sections about China.”

China opposes US military assistance to Taiwan and often imposes sanctions on related companies after a sale or aid package is announced. The sanctions generally have limited impact because US defense companies do not sell weapons or other military products to China. The US is the main supplier of arms to Taiwan’s defense.

The seven companies sanctioned are Insitu Inc., Hudson Technologies Co., Saronic Technologies, Inc., Raytheon Canada, Raytheon Australia, Aerkomm Inc. and Oceaneering International Inc., the Foreign Ministry statement said. It said “relevant senior executives” of the companies were also being sanctioned, without naming any.

Any assets they hold in China will be frozen, and organizations and individuals in China are barred from engaging in any business with them, it said.

US President Joe Biden last week authorized up to $571 million in Defense Department materials and services and military education and training for Taiwan. Separately, the Defense Department announced that $295 million in military sales had been approved.

The US defense bill increases military spending to $895 billion and directs resources towards a more confrontational approach to China. It establishes a fund that could be used to send military resources to Taiwan, in the same way the US has supported Ukraine. It also expands the ban on US military purchases of Chinese products, from drone technology to garlic for military commissaries.

Zhang Xiaogang, a spokesman for China’s Ministry of Defense, said earlier this week that the US is promoting the “so-called” threat from China to justify increased military spending.

“US military spending has topped the world and continues to grow every year,” he told a news conference. “This fully exposes the belligerent nature of the US and its obsession with hegemony and expansion.”

The Foreign Ministry statement said the US measures violate the two countries’ agreements on Taiwan, interfere in China’s internal affairs and undermine the nation’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Taiwan’s government said earlier this month that China had sent dozens of ships into nearby seas to practice a blockade of the island, a move Taiwan said undermined peace and stability and disrupted international shipping and trade. China has not confirmed or commented on the reported military activity.

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