Governments in China have placed Lockheed Martin Corporation and Raytheon Technologies Corporation under sanctions for arms sales to Taiwan, officials announced Monday. This was the third time China has declared such sanctions against American companies.
In a regular news briefing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said that the sanctions countermeasures against two companies over the $100 million arms sale on February 7 have negatively impacted ties between China and the US as well as peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.
“In accordance with the relevant stipulations in China’s anti-foreign sanctions law, the Chinese government has decided to take countermeasures on the infringing acts of Raytheon Technologies and Lockheed Martin,” Wang stated.
Chinese officials have announced sanctions against Lockheed and Raytheon on at least two previous occasions, in 2019 and 2020, but Beijing has not described what those sanctions entailed and how they were implemented.
China regularly says that Taiwan is the most important and sensitive issue in its ties with Washington, which are also strained over trade and human rights disputes.
