China to sanction Lockheed Martin for arms sales to Taiwan

“China is strongly opposed to the sale of arms by the United States to Taiwan,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said at a press conference. Taiwan is a self-governing island, but China has long promised to unify it with the mainland.

The United States is one of Taiwan’s leading arms suppliers. Last week, the United States State Department approved a request from Taiwan to upgrade its Patriot surface-to-air missiles at an estimated cost of $ 620 million, according to the Central Taiwan News Agency.

In response, China is imposing “sanctions on the main contractor for this arms sale, Lockheed Martin,” Zhao said, without elaborating. The United States should “stop selling arms to Taiwan and cut its military ties to Taiwan, so as not to further harm bilateral relations between China and the United States,” he added.

Relations between the world’s two main economies were already approaching new lows.

After tightening sanctions on Huawei, Washington has threatened in recent weeks to ban more of China’s biggest tech companies. Beijing has sanctioned US officials and lawmakers and has told the United States to stop interfering in China’s international affairs. Meanwhile, there is increasing criticism from the United States and other Western countries about Beijing’s crackdown on Hong Kong and China’s early handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

Selling arms to Taiwan “shows that the US is advancing its plans to contain the Chinese continent, regardless of the problems it has with handling the coronavirus in the country, and will generate more chaos and complexity in the region instead of peace and stability. ” State tabloid reported by the Global Times last week.

The arms sale is “symbolic, and only gives Taiwan’s secessionists false courage, rather than increasing their military capabilities,” Yang Chengjun, a Chinese expert on missile technology and nuclear strategy, told the newspaper.

Lockheed Martin did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

It is unclear how the Chinese sanctions would affect the company’s business. Lockheed Martin said in a recent presentation that missiles and firearms will represent less than 20% of the company. Estimated sales for 2020. Generates more than double the aeronautical revenue, which includes sales of the company’s F-35 fighter jets.

Beijing could restrict Chinese companies from supplying key technology to Lockheed Martin, which would be similar to the restrictions Washington has imposed on Huawei. Last year, Sky News reported that a Chinese-owned company makes circuit boards for F-35 aircraft. Lockheed Martin told the British broadcaster at the time that he was unaware of any other Chinese-owned F-35 providers.

– CNN’s Isaac Yee contributed to this report.