China sanctions 10 US defence firms after curbs on Alibaba and Baidu

China announced sanctions on 10 American military-linked companies and widened curbs to 46 firms. The move escalates the latest US-China tech and defence trade confrontation.

In Short

• Chinese exporters cannot supply dual-use goods to the sanctioned American firms
• Third-country entities are also barred from rerouting Chinese items onward
• Government agencies will stop purchasing products from 46 named US companies

China on Monday announced sanctions on 10 American military-related companies in response to a recent US move that bars some leading Chinese technology companies from defence contracts.

China's Commerce Ministry said Chinese companies would be blocked from exporting "dual-use" items to the 10 firms. It said the step was meant to safeguard China's national security and respond to what it called the US government's "wrongful expansion of its so-called List of Chinese Military Companies".

The ministry said dual-use items are goods that can have both military and non-military applications. It also said companies or individuals in third countries would be barred from transferring such items from China to the sanctioned American firms. At the same time, it said Chinese companies could apply for export approval for goods that are "genuinely necessary".

Separately, the Finance Ministry said government entities would be prohibited from buying products from 46 American companies, including Lockheed Martin and Raytheon Missiles & Defence, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

Earlier this month, the US Defence Department added several technology companies, including Alibaba and Baidu, to a list of firms it says have links to the Chinese military. Baidu said the suggestion that it is a military company is "totally baseless". The designation prevents the companies from getting US military contracts.

The Commerce Ministry had said at the time that the American sanctions went against the consensus that Chinese leader Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump reached during Trump's visit to China in May.

The 10 companies named by China are AVEOX in Simi Valley, California; Red Cat Holdings and Teal Drones, both in South Salt Lake, Utah; IMSAR in Springville, Utah; Jaia Robotics in Bristol, Rhode Island; Ball Aerospace & Technologies in Broomfield, Colorado; Oshkosh Defense in Oshkosh, Wisconsin; L3Harris Maritime Services in Norfolk, Virginia; MP Materials in Las Vegas; and USA Rare Earth in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

The latest measures mark China's response to recent US restrictions, combining export curbs on 10 American military-linked firms with a wider government procurement ban covering 46 US companies.

With PTI Inputs

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