China’s foreign ministry said Friday it is imposing sanctions targeting 20 U.S. defense-related companies and 10 executives, a week after the Trump administration annoucned more than $11 billion in arms sales to Taiwan.
The sanctioned companies include Northrop Grumman Systems Corp. (NOC), L3Harris Maritime Services (LHX), and Boeing’s (BA) operations in St. Louis, Missouri.
The measures freeze any assets the companies and individuals hold in China and bar domestic organizations and individuals from doing business with them, and the Individuals on the list, including the founder of Anduril Industries and nine senior executives from the sanctioned firms, are banned from entering China, the ministry said.
The actual impact of the measures likely will be minimal, since most of the companies and executives targeted have little or no presence in China, and some already were banned from entry by China’s commerce ministry.
“The Taiwan question is at the very core of China’s interests and the first red line that cannot be crossed in China-U.S. relations,” the Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement.