Foreign Affairs

China Sanctions 7 Firms Over US Military Support For Taiwan

Flickr/Official White House Photo by Carlos Fyfe

China sanctioned seven companies on Friday in response to the U.S. recently announcing new military sales and aid to Taiwan.

The seven companies being sanctioned are Insitu Inc., Hudson Technologies Co., Saronic Technologies, Inc., Oceaneering International Inc., Raytheon Canada, Raytheon Australia and Aerkomm Inc., according to China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The sanctions were issued in retaliation to the Biden-Harris administration’s approval of up to $571 million in defense support for Taiwan on Dec. 20.

The Defense Department also announced on Dec. 20 the approval of two military sales totaling $295 million.

Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry said on Dec. 21 that they welcomed the military sales in a post on X, adding that the U.S. is “reaffirming its commitment to our defense in line with the #TaiwanRelationsAct & #SixAssurances.”

On Sunday, China protested the military sales and assistance to Taiwan, saying that the U.S. is “playing with fire,” the Associated Press reported. China has a long-standing pledge to achieve “reunification” with Taiwan.

The U.S. has been engaged in escalating trade tensions with Beijing. A probe was also launched by the U.S. into China’s semiconductor industry on Monday, accusing the nation of seeking “to dominate domestic and global markets.” After the U.S. announced on Dec. 2 a package of restrictions designed to reduce China’s capability to produce advanced semiconductors, China swiftly retaliated against the new set of rules by announcing an export ban on certain minerals and materials critical to producing items such as semiconductors and batteries.