The Chinese government announced on Friday a new set of sanctions against seven US companies over Washington’s military aid to Taiwan, after the country’s president, Joe Biden, approved last week an assistance package worth 571 million dollars (about 547.5 million euros) for the island.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Beijing has approved “countermeasures” against these seven companies – Insitu, Hudson Technologies, Saronic Technology, Raytheon Canada, Raytheon Australia, Aerkomm and Oceaneering International – and added that “their properties, real estate and other assets in China will be frozen.”
“All organisations and individuals in China are prohibited from engaging in transactions, cooperation or other activities with them,” he said, before recalling that this is a response to the “substantial military aid” from the United States to Taiwan, which “seriously violates the ‘one China’ principle.”
Thus, he stressed that the decision of the United States also constitutes a violation of “the three Sino-American joint communiqués”, while adding that this military aid from Washington to Taipei “interferes in China’s internal affairs and undermines China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
The situation around Taiwan, which China considers another province under its sovereignty, has worsened in recent years. Most countries, including the United States, do not recognise the island as an independent state, although Washington opposes any attempt to take Taiwan by force and has pledged to arm the Taiwanese authorities in the event of a conflict.
