China on Thursday put Lockheed Martin and a unit of Raytheon Technologies on an “unreliable entities list” over arms sales to Taiwan, banning them from imports and exports related to China in its latest sanctions against the U.S. companies.
Lockheed makes the F-22 Raptor fighter, the model that was responsible for shooting down the Chinese balloon off the coast of South Carolina on February 4. Raytheon makes the AIM-9X Sidewinder missile, which was used in the mission.
China has insisted that the sanctions were not related to the “unmanned airship incident.”
Its Ministry of Commerce released a statement on Friday morning saying the measures were part of “normal law enforcement action” for arms sales by the two entities to Taiwan that “seriously undermined” China’s national security and territorial integrity.
The sanctions came just days after the US Commerce Department restricted six Chinese companies that it said were tied to the Chinese army’s aerospace program from obtaining US technology without government authorization.
Both Lockheed Martin and Raytheon Missiles & Defense are also subject to fines “twice the amount” of their arms sales to Taiwan dating back to September 2020, and their senior executives will be prohibited from entering and working in China.
It was not immediately clear how Beijing would enforce the fines.
While the United States prohibits the sale of weapons to China, some US defense contractors have ties to civilian sectors.
Source: Reuters
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