China says it will impose sanctions on Boeing and Lockheed Martin over Taiwan arms sales
Beijing said Monday that it will impose sanctions on American companies — including Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and Raytheon — that have been involved in selling weapons to Taiwan.
Posted — UpdatedSpeaking at a press conference Monday, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Zhao Lijian called on the United States to stop selling arms to the self-governed island and to cut military ties with the government in Taipei.
The sanctions are just the latest escalation in growing tensions between the United States and China over Taiwan. Even though the island has never been controlled by China's ruling Communist Party, Beijing insists it is an integral part of its territory and has threatened to use force if necessary to assert its control.
"We will continue to take necessary measures to safeguard national sovereignty and security interests," Zhao said. He reiterated that US arms sales to Taiwan "seriously violate" the one-China principle and harms China's security interests.
The exact details of the sanctions have yet to be announced, but Zhao said they will apply to "relevant US individuals and entities that played a negative role in the arms sales."
Zhao specifically mentioned that the sanctions would affect major US companies such as Lockheed Martin, Boeing's defense contractor business, and Raytheon. CNN Business has reached out to the companies for comment.
In the past year, the Trump administration has moved to strengthen ties with Taipei, including increasing arms sales and facilitating high-level meetings between US and Taiwan officials.
Last week the United States formally notified Congress of the proposed sale of three advanced weapons systems to Taiwan, totaling an estimated $1.8 billion.
— CNN's Beijing bureau contributed to this report.
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