China targets US defence contractors in multiple sanctions announcements
China has added 26 US companies to various sanctions and control lists in a series of announcements on 4 March, escalating economic tensions following Washington’s decision to double tariffs on Chinese imports over fentanyl concerns.
In its most wide-ranging action, China’s Ministry of Commerce (‘MOFCOM’) placed 15 US defence and technology firms on its export control list, including drone manufacturer AeroVironment, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems and General Dynamics Land Systems.
‘The export of dual-use items to the above-mentioned 15 US entities is prohibited; any related export activities currently underway should be stopped immediately,’ MOFCOM stated.
In a separate announcement, the ministry added 10 additional US defence contractors to its Unreliable Entity List, including TCOM Limited Partnership, Huntington Ingalls Industries, and Cubic Corporation. Companies on this list ‘are prohibited from engaging in import and export activities related to China’ and ‘from making new investments in China.’
The official Global Times daily said the fresh measures targeted the 10 firms ‘for engaging in arms sales to the Taiwan region and conducting so-called cooperation on military technologies with the island.’
A third MOFCOM notice specifically targeted US gene sequencing giant Illumina, Inc., which was previously added to the Unreliable Entity List on 4 February. The new announcement prohibits the company ‘from exporting gene sequencers to China.’
The ministry also initiated an ‘anti-circumvention investigation’ into optical fibre imports from the United States, examining whether American manufacturers are evading existing anti-dumping duties by slightly modifying their products.
The investigation targets ‘relevant cut-off wavelength-shifted single-mode optical fibers’ and follows a complaint from Chinese manufacturer Changfei Optical Fiber and Cable Co. Current anti-dumping duties on US optical fibre products range from 33.3% to 78.2%, depending on the manufacturer.
These measures come amid escalating trade tensions, with China already announcing retaliatory tariffs of up to 15% on US agricultural products after President Donald Trump doubled tariffs on Chinese goods from 10% to 20%, citing Beijing’s alleged failure to address synthetic opioid trafficking.
https://www.mofcom.gov.cn/zwgk/zcfb/art/2025/art_d94b0155ebb547609e748b23a94b8139.html
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