China to sanction US arms suppliers to Taiwan

Beijing, Oct 27: China will impose sanctions on US companies including Boeing and Lockheed Martin for supplying weapons to rival Taiwan, a foreign ministry spokesman said on Monday.

Raytheon also will be affected, said the spokesman, Zhao Lijian. He gave no details of what penalties might be imposed or when.

China and Taiwan split during a civil war in 1949 and have no diplomatic relations. Beijing claims the democratically led island as part of the communist mainland's territory and has threatened to invade.

In order to safeguard national interests, China decided to impose sanctions on the American companies that were involved in arms sales to Taiwan, Zhao said at a regular news briefing.