Arms sale to Taiwan: China bans US companies

The Chinese government has imposed sanctions on two US arms companies for selling arms to Taiwan. This is the first time American companies have faced penalties under anti-sanctions legislation.

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 “China’s Taiwan region”. A spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry explained this without elaborating on any kind of punitive measures and their implementation. The government in Beijing has already threatened punitive measures against the arms companies in 2019 and 2020.

The sanctions are in response to an arms deal between two US companies and Taiwan. In February, the two arms companies sold $ 100 million worth of weapons to Taiwan. It told a news conference that the agreement severely undermined China’s security interests, Sino-US relations and “peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait”.

First sanctions against US arms companies

This is the first time that US arms companies have faced punitive action under the new Chinese regime Law against foreign sanctions Will be occupied. Beijing passed legislation last summer in response to US sanctions against Chinese companies. This means that the Communist leadership can now punish foreign companies if they comply with EU or US sanctions, for example against human rights abuses in China.

Beijing considers Taiwan’s self-governing island to be a separate province, which actually belongs to the Chinese state. Over the past two years, China has increased military and diplomatic tensions on the mainland island of China. The Taiwanese government has always insisted on peace, but will defend the island in the event of an attack. China considers Taiwan to be the most important and crucial issue in its relations with the United States. Although the United States does not sell arms to China, it is required by law 1979 to provide Taiwan with means of defense.