Beijing has barred seven European Union organizations from receiving Chinese dual-use goods, citing their involvement in the arms trade with Taiwan.
The companies listed by China’s Ministry of Commerce on Friday include German radar manufacturer Hensoldt, Belgian firearms manufacturer FN Browning Group and its subsidiary FN Herstal, as well as four Czech organizations: Omnipol, Excalibur Army, SpaceKnow, and the Czech Aerospace Research and Experiment Institute.
Dual-use elements are products that can be used for both civilian and military purposes, including drone components and advanced rare earth materials. China has increasingly relied on export controls to restrict access to those products by countries it considers a military threat, including the United States and Japan. Under China’s export laws, buyers are not allowed to transfer dual-use goods to government-listed defense companies.
Responding to the move on social media, Czech Foreign Minister Petr Macinka asked Beijing to clarify the decision. Hensoldt told Reuters “to prove the truth” and would assess the situation, while the Excalibur Army said it does not directly source dual-use technology from China.
The newly approved companies are the first European Union organizations to face sanctions from Beijing over arms trade with Taiwan. The spokesperson of the Ministry of Commerce said so obey the law customers “in fairness there is no need to worry” about equipment.
Tit-for-tat sanctions?
The move was initiated a day after the EU approved its latest round of fight the Russians sanctions, which targeted 27 organizations from mainland China or Hong Kong. The Ministry of Commerce said Beijing was “I am not very satisfied with being strongly opposed” The action of Brussels, and warned that it will take “necessary measures” protect China’s interests.
In a separate compromise move on Friday, Beijing lifted countermeasures it imposed on Lithuanian banks last year, after the EU lifted sanctions on two Chinese banks it had targeted for allegedly providing financial services to Russia.
Beijing has long criticized the use of unilateral sanctions by the West, but has increasingly turned to trade sanctions amid ongoing tensions with the United States, especially since the escalation of trade disputes under President Donald Trump.
China remains very sensitive to military cooperation with Taiwan, the self-governing Chinese island that for decades served as a US base in the region, viewing the deals as a challenge to its independence and support for separatist forces.
Global supply risks have increased since late February, when inconvenience caused by the US-Israel war against Iran significantly reduced traffic from the Persian Gulf. Importers of key commodities – including oil, natural gas, fertilizers, helium and aluminum – are now reevaluating sourcing and production strategies amid economic uncertainty.
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