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China on Wednesday unveiled a suite of economic retaliatory measures against the United States, placing six American companies on a sanctions blacklist and tightening export restrictions on drones heading to Washington.
The move follows fresh US trade sanctions linked to forced labour and national security considerations. The countermeasures were announced after Washington introduced new tariffs targeting Beijing and more than 50 other countries as part of US President Donald Trump's wider trade push, which he argued was necessary to address trade deficits that were "unfair" to Washington. Hitting back at the measures, a Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesperson stated that the US actions "seriously harm China's legitimate rights and interests." "China can only take necessary countermeasures in response, including strengthening export controls on drones and their key components and technology to the US," the spokesperson added. As part of its enforcement strategy, the Commerce Ministry suspended factory follow-up inspections conducted by domestic certification bodies, blacklisted US compliance testing firms, and launched national security investigations into imports of office copiers and printers. Beijing also slapped sanctions on six US companies, including biotechnology firm Applied DNA Sciences and geoscience research outfit Stratum Reservoir, barring Chinese individuals and organisations from "engaging in relevant transactions, cooperation, or other activities with them." The ministry stated that the six blacklisted firms "have assisted and supported illegal US sanctions related to Xinjiang; the nature of their actions is egregious." The United Nations has previously warned of potential crimes against humanity in Xinjiang against the predominantly Muslim Uyghur minority, allegations that Beijing has repeatedly denied. In a telephonic conversation, China's senior trade envoy He Lifeng expressed "serious concern" to US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer over the latest trade restrictions, state news agency Xinhua reported. The dispute follows earlier allegations by Beijing that Washington was attempting to "suppress" Chinese enterprises after the US prohibited imports of humanoid and quadruped robots manufactured outside its borders. The latest US tariffs, issued under forced labour concerns, came after the US Supreme Court struck down reciprocal tariffs implemented under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Following that ruling, the US administration imposed temporary 10 per cent tariffs, capped at 150 days, which expired last month. Although trade relations had stabilised following a meeting between Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping last October, the renewed friction comes ahead of Xi's scheduled visit to the United States on September 24. (ANI)
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