China slaps sanctions on Lockheed Martin, Raytheon over arms sales to Taiwan region
Global TimesFeb 15, 2023
China placed US-based arms manufacturers Lockheed Martin and Raytheon on its "unreliable entities list" on Thursday, barring the companies from importing goods into China or making new investments in the country.
These are the latest sanctions imposed on the companies over their sale of weapons to Taiwan. Raytheon was awarded $412M in September to upgrade Taiwan's military radar, and Lockheed Martin has also supplied the island with radar, helicopters, and air traffic control equipment; the aerospace giant has also helped with fighter jet development.
These sanctions are deserved as both these companies have been advocating for massive weapons shipments to Taiwan, which is a direct threat to Chinese security. Though the US has imposed sanctions on Chinese companies, the punishments against Lockheed and Raytheon may go further than the fine as they lose access to Chinese-based rare-earth elements for manufacturing.
These sanctions are unnecessary as the US has never exported weapons as a means of antagonizing China. Since China and Taiwan split in 1949, the two states have never been the same. The US, as a long-time ally of Taipei, is also obligated by its federal law to maintain economic security with Taiwan, which is why Raytheon and Lockheed Martin conduct both military and commercial aerospace business with the island.
There is a 33% chance that China will launch a full-scale invasion of Taiwan before 2030, according to the Metaculus prediction community.