Arms sales to Taiwan: China imposes sanctions on US companies

The Chinese government has imposed sanctions on two US arms companies over arms sales to Taiwan. This is the first time that US companies have faced penalties under the anti-sanctions law.

Beijing imposes sanctions on US arms companies Lockheed Martin and Raytheon Technologies for arms deals with Taiwan. Both companies have long been involved in sales to the “Taiwan region of China”. This was explained by a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, without giving any details about the type of punitive measures and how they would be implemented. The government in Beijing had already threatened punitive measures against arms companies in 2019 and 2020.

The sanctions resolution was issued in response to an arms deal between the two US companies and Taiwan. In February, the two arms companies sold $100 million worth of arms to Taiwan. At a press conference, she said the agreement seriously undermines China’s security interests, Sino-US relations, and “peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.”

The first sanctions against US arms companies

This is the first time that US arms companies have been subject to punitive action under China’s new anti-foreign sanctions law. Beijing passed the law last summer in response to US sanctions against Chinese companies. This means that the communist leadership can now penalize foreign companies if they comply with sanctions from the European Union or the United States, for example against human rights abuses in China.

Beijing considers the self-governing island of Taiwan a breakaway province that actually belongs to the Chinese state. In the past two years, China has increased its military and diplomatic pressure on the island off mainland China. The Taiwan government has always emphasized that it wants peace, but will defend the island in the event of an attack. China regards Taiwan as the most important and sensitive issue in its relations with the United States. While the United States does not sell weapons to China, a 1979 law obligates it to provide Taiwan with the means for self-defense.