China adds 7 U.S. firms to unreliable entities list

China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) announced on Tuesday that it has decided to add seven U.S. companies to the unreliable entities list for participating in arms sales to China's Taiwan region, so as to safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests.

The seven companies include Inter-Coastal Electronics, System Studies & Simulation, IronMountain Solutions, Applied Technologies Group, Axient, Anduril Industries and Maritime Tactical Systems.

The companies will be prohibited from engaging in China-related import or export activities and barred from making new investments in China, the MOFCOM said.

Senior executives of these companies will be banned from entering China, their work permits and visitor or residency status revoked, and any related applications they submit will not be approved, according to the announcement.

The decision took effect on Tuesday.

Recently, the U.S. has frequently sold weapons to China's Taiwan region, seriously violating the one-China principle and the provisions of the three China-U.S. joint communiques, gravely breaching international law, and endangering peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits, a spokesperson from the ministry said on Tuesday.

Companies such as the U.S.-based Inter-Coastal Electronics and six others, despite strong opposition from China, have participated in arms sales to Taiwan and engaged in so-called military technical cooperation, severely harming China's sovereignty, security, and development interests. The Chinese side will pursue legal responsibility for their unlawful actions in accordance with relevant laws and regulations, the spokesperson said. 

The spokesperson emphasized that China approaches the list of unreliable entities with prudence, targeting only a handful of foreign entities that threaten China's national security. Foreign entities that are honest and law-abiding have nothing to worry about.

The Chinese government welcomes enterprises worldwide to invest and expand their businesses in China, and is committed to providing a stable, fair, and predictable business environment for compliant foreign enterprises operating in China, the spokesperson said.