| Translate This News In |
|---|
In its most recent sanctions against American businesses, China on Thursday listed Lockheed Martin and a division of Raytheon Technologies as “unreliable entities” and barred them from imports and exports to China because of their sales of weapons to Taiwan.
The measures come a day after Beijing threatened to take “countermeasures against pertinent US entities that undermine China’s sovereignty and security” in light of the rising tensions following the US military’s alleged shooting down of a Chinese spy balloon.
It is forbidden for Lockheed Martin Corp. and Raytheon Missile and Defense Corp., a division of Raytheon Technologies Corp., to “engage in import and export activities linked to China,” according to a statement from the Chinese ministry of commerce.
We see these steps as unnecessary and symbolic, the White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Thursday.
A defense product is not sold to China by either firm. Raytheon opted against commenting. The business aviation sector in China purchases landing gear and controls from Raytheon Technologies as well as aircraft engines from Pratt & Whitney.
In a statement, Lockheed, which sells to more than 70 nations, said: “Foreign Military Sales are government-to-government deals, and we closely collaborate with the U.S. government on any military sales to foreign customers. When it comes to doing business with other countries, Lockheed Martin strictly adheres to US government policy.
The AIM-9X Sidewinder missile is produced by Raytheon and is used by the F-22 Raptor fighter jet, which is manufactured by Lockheed. This aircraft was used in the operation to shoot down the alleged Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina.
Beijing also barred the companies from making additional investments in China, forbade entry of top management, revoked the work permits of all employees, and levied fines equal to twice the agreed-upon sums for their arms sales to Taiwan.
Uncertainty surrounded China’s enforcement of the fines, which the country stipulated must be settled within 15 days.
China imposed sanctions on the two firms in February of last year as a result of a $100 million arms deal with Taiwan, a self-governing island that Beijing sees as a separatist province.
China has at least twice previously announced sanctions against Lockheed and Raytheon, in 2019 and 2020, but Beijing has not specified what those sanctions comprised or how they were implemented.
US arms sales to China are nonexistent. However, the US must give Taiwan the means to protect itself under the terms of the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act, and US arms sales incite China’s ire.
