China US

The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Wednesday announced countermeasures against 12 US defense corporations and 10 US individuals. 

The latest targets for China's countermeasures include Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, Raytheon Missile Systems, and senior executives of General Dynamics Information Technology. In Wednesday's announcement, the Chinese foreign ministry cited China's Anti-foreign Sanctions Law, noting that the US has imposed illegal unilateral sanctions on multiple Chinese entities under the pretext of alleged Russian factors, engaging in unilateral bullying and economic coercion. 

The foreign ministry also stressed that the US has continued to sell weapons to the Taiwan region of China, seriously violating the one-China principle and the provisions of the three Sino-US joint communiques, interfering in China's internal affairs, and seriously undermining China's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

China's countermeasures are aimed at the hegemonic actions of the US policies against China and its overall hostile China policy. The US often coerces China and other countries through typical long-arm jurisdiction, carrying out policy planning according to its narrow hegemonic interests, Chinese experts said.

It is now clear that if the US sanctions and punishes Chinese companies using the Ukraine crisis as a pretext, China will resolutely defend its interests with countermeasures, Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Wednesday. 

China's countermeasures clearly highlight the extreme absurdity of US actions amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict against Chinese firms and take decisive counteractions. These actions are significantly different from the past. Previously, China primarily expressed its principles through diplomatic language and declarations of its stance, but now it is more resolute in implementing specific actions. With the countermeasures, it is hoped that the US will stop harming China's national interests and the legitimate rights of Chinese enterprises, he noted.

One day earlier, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that it will take countermeasures in accordance with the law against Mike Gallagher, a former US Representative from Wisconsin and former US congressman, for his frequent words and actions over the past years that have interfered in China's internal affairs, undermined China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and infringed on China's interests.

Experts said the latest move appears to be unprecedented in intensity and strength, sending a clear signal and warning to the US as well as to Lai Ching-te, the new regional leader of Taiwan island who blatantly made an "independence manifesto" in his inaugural speech on Monday, said experts. 

The countermeasures are quite strong and are defensive in nature. They aim to safeguard our sovereignty and national security and target the inappropriate actions of the US that involve long-arm jurisdiction over China and infringe upon China's sovereignty, Li said.   

The countermeasures targets are evidently the stubborn, irrational anti-China extremists in the US and US companies that violate China's sovereignty and dignity. The countermeasures will remind US politicians and business entities that they cannot expect to profit and gain political capital by infringing on China's interests, Li said. 

Xin Qiang, director of the Taiwan Studies Center at Fudan University, told the Global Times that the intensity and strength of this countermeasure appears to be unprecedented, as basically all major companies that have been involved in arms sales to Taiwan island in recent years have been on the list.

Such countermeasures will also signal to the international community China's firm stance on sovereignty and security, and convey the message that any action that undermines China's sovereignty and violates the one-China principle, will face countermeasure. This, in turn, will strengthen the international community's understanding of China's stance on its core interests, observers said. 

By taking countermeasures against certain companies and individuals in the US, the international community can gain a clearer understanding of the destructive nature of the US' long-arm jurisdiction over other countries' sovereignty and security, exposing the domineering and bullying aspects of Washington's foreign policy, they said. 

Xin noted that some companies may reconsider the issue of arms sales to Taiwan island, especially companies with significant interests in the mainland's civilian market.