Beijing announced the imposition of sanctions against the US arms giant for its role in the sale of arms that Washington agreed with Taiwan
The deterioration of relations between the United States and China is worsening by the day. After US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo criticized Beijing’s “illegal” claims in the South China Sea, the Chinese regime responded with unprecedented sanctions against Lockheed Martin, writes the Spanish newspaper El País today.
China announced on Tuesday that it would impose sanctions on Lockheed Martin for being one of the main beneficiaries of US arms sales to Taiwan that Washington approved last week, through which the United States will modernize Taiwanese surface-to-air missiles. in an operation with a cost of 540 million euros.
At the press conference convened by Beijing to announce retaliation, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian urged the United States to “avoid continuing to undermine Chinese-American ties as well as peace and stability in the straits Taiwan ”.
To safeguard “national interests”, China decided to “take the necessary steps and impose sanctions on the main beneficiary company” for arms sales to Taiwan, he explained. Hours before Beijing’s decision on Lockheed Martin, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has publicly stated that Chinese claims about the South China Sea area are “totally illegal”.
