China sanctions Lockheed Martin over Taiwan arms sales

On Friday, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that certain entities and senior executives of the American defence company Lockheed Martin have been sanctioned. China cited the sale of arms to Taiwan, which Beijing considers part of the People's Republic of China, as the reason.

In a statement published on the Ministry's website, three entities and three members of Lockheed Martin's leadership were announced as having their " movable and immovable property and other types of assets in China" frozen.

These individuals, including President James Donald Taiclet, have also been banned from entering China (including Hong Kong and Macau).

Lockheed Martin has been the target of sanctions several times, including in 2019 and 2020, related to arms supplies to Taiwan. At the time, it was not explained what these sanctions would entail or how they would be enforced.

Both the company's president and its Chief Financial Officer Jesus Malave were also previously banned from entering China as part of the sanctions package announced in February 2023.

Beijing considers democratically-ruled Taiwan as part of the territory of the People's Republic of China and seeks to bring it under its control, not ruling out the possibility of using force. The United States does not maintain formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan but is considered its biggest ally and arms supplier.