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In a fresh escalation of trade tensions between the United States and China, Beijing on Thursday announced new export control measures targeting 28 US companies and placed 10 of them to a list, barring them from conducting business in the country, the Voice of America reported.
The group of 28 companies primarily consists of defence contractors, including Lockheed Martin and five of its subsidiaries, General Dynamics and three of its subsidiaries, three subsidiaries of Raytheon, one subsidiary of Boeing, and over a dozen other firms. Chinese companies are now prohibited from selling "dual-use" goods -- items with both military and civilian applications -- to any of these entities. In an announcement, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said the sanctions were put in place "in order to safeguard national security ... interests and fulfill international obligations such as non-proliferation," VOA reported. In a separate announcement, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce designated 10 companies, all subsidiaries of Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, and Raytheon, as "unreliable entities." This designation imposes stricter sanctions. The sanctions include bans on importing and exporting goods to and from China, restrictions on new investments, and revocation of any work or residency permits held by the companies' executives. Executives are also prohibited from travelling to China. The ministry justified the measures, citing the companies' involvement in arms sales to Taiwan. It emphasised that the restrictions were intended to "safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests." Earlier in December 2024, a bipartisan group of US lawmakers had proposed three bills designed to address China's involvement in the US fentanyl crisis. The proposed legislation included the creation of a US task force to combat narcotics trafficking and provisions that would enable sanctions against Chinese entities, the Voice of America reported. The legislation proposed aimed to hold China's ruling Communist Party (CCP) responsible for "directly contributing to the fentanyl crisis by subsidizing precursor chemicals," according to the House of Representatives Select Committee on China, which includes all the bill sponsors. (ANI)
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