China’s Foreign Ministry on Friday announced targeted sanctions against 10 people and 20 U.S. defense companies, including Boeing’s St. Louis subsidiary, over arms sales to Taiwan.
The measures freeze any assets that companies and individuals have in China and prohibit domestic organizations and individuals from doing business with them, the ministry said.
The people on the list — including the founder of the defense company Anduril Industries and nine senior executives of the sanctioned firms — are also banned from entering China, he added.
Other companies affected include Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation and L3Harris Maritime Services.
The decision comes after Washington’s announcement last week of arms sales to Taiwan worth $11.1 billion, the largest US arms package ever destined for the island, which drew the ire of Beijing.
“The Taiwan issue is the core of China’s core interests and the first red line that cannot be crossed in China-US relations,” a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in a statement on Friday.
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“Any provocative actions that cross the line on the Taiwan issue will be responded to firmly by China,” the statement said, urging the United States to cease “dangerous” efforts to arm the island.
China considers democratically governed Taiwan part of its own territory, a claim Taipei rejects.
The United States is required by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, although these arms sales are a persistent source of friction with China.
With information from Reuters.
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