China has imposed sanctions on 13 US defence firms, including drone and artificial intelligence companies, and six executives, over the sale of arms to Taiwan.
The US is the main overseas supplier of arms for Taiwan's defence. China, which considers Taiwan a renegade province, opposes any official interaction between the island's government and the US.
The latest arms sales deal, announced by the US in November, is worth $385 million. As per the deal, the US is likely to deliver the military equipment, including spare parts for fighter jets and radar systems, in 2025.
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The sanctions imposed on these companies and executives include a ban on entering China, including Hong Kong and Macao. The executives on whom the ban was imposed include the president and vice president of Naval Power strategic business unit of prominent American multinational aerospace and defense conglomerate Raytheon Technologies, Barbara Borgonovi and Gerard Huebe.
The announcement of the ban comes on a day when Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te visited Guam, a US island territory in Micronesia, in the Western Pacific.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said the sanctions were due to “repeated announcement of arms sales to Taiwan.”
“We urge the United States to clearly recognise the serious danger that separatist acts of Taiwan independence pose to peace and security across the Taiwan Strait... and to stop sending wrong signals to Taiwan separatist forces," he was quoted as saying by South China Morning Post.
