The Ministry of Commerce Photo: VCG

 
China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) on Thursday added 10 US companies including Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, Raytheon/Lockheed Martin Javelin Joint Venture, General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems, to the Unreliable Entity List for participating in arms sales to the Taiwan region.

The ministry also prohibited the 10 companies from engaging in import and export activities related to China and making new investments in China. The country will neither approve nor maintain the work permits, stays, or residence qualifications for the senior executives of these 10 US companies in China, the ministry said. 

The Taiwan question is an internal affair of China, concerning its core interests and it brooks no external interference. The one-China principle is a universally recognized basic norm in international relations and a general consensus of the international community. China has always been firmly opposed to the arm sales by the US to China's Taiwan region, a spokesperson from the ministry said on Thursday. 

In recent years, 10 firms including Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control despite China's strong opposition, participated in the arms sales to Taiwan and carried out so-called military technical cooperation, seriously undermining China's national sovereignty and territorial integrity, gravely violating the one-China principle and the provisions of the three China-US joint communiques, and seriously jeopardizing peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits, the spokesperson said.

China has consistently handled the issue of the Unreliable Entity List with caution, targeting only a small number of foreign entities that pose a threat to our national security. Foreign entities that operate in good faith and comply with the law have no reason to worry at all, the spokesperson stated.

The Chinese government welcomes enterprises worldwide to invest and expand their businesses in China, and is committed to providing a stable, fair, and predictable business environment for compliant foreign enterprises operating in China, the spokesperson added.

Global Times