Beijing warns US of 'fierce competition' with China
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In light of US arms sales to Taiwan, China sanctions Raytheon and Lockheed.
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Beijing warns the US of 'fierce competition' with China.
Beijing warned that the United States' attempt to limit China through Taiwan is a mistake, warning that the current competition, which is being pushed by Washington, could escalate into a conflict.
Attempts to incorporate Taiwan in the Indo-Pacific plan are sending all the "wrong signals" regarding "curbing China's development," China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a phone conversation on Tuesday.
"Some US officials advocate a long-term, bitter competition with China that is likely to escalate into a full-scale confrontation between China and the US", Wang Yi added.
Beijing's announcement comes amid a disagreement over Taiwan, with the US announcing a $100 million deal to sell arms to Taipei to maintain Patriot air defense systems.
Chinese authorities have already stated that they will retaliate against US arms sales to Taiwan by imposing sanctions on Lockheed Martin and Raytheon Technologies.
Since the end of the civil war in 1949, Taiwan has been governed separately from mainland China. Taiwan argues that it is an autonomous republic with political and economic ties to several other countries, whereas Beijing considers the island to be part of Chinese territory.
Despite the fact that the US does not recognize Taipei's government, Washington's ties with Taiwan have grown in recent years: top American officials have visited the island, and some sources claim that US forces are training the Taiwanese military.
#China announced new sanctions on #US military companies Raytheon Technologies and Lockheed Martin on Monday after the US companies increased their arms sales to #Taiwan amid tensions with China. pic.twitter.com/7fUM6ZOwuz
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) February 21, 2022
Beijing sanctions Lockheed, Raytheon
China has imposed penalties on Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) and Raytheon Technologies Corp (RTX.N) over arms shipments to Taiwan, the government stated on Monday, marking at least the third time it has done so.
The sanctions are retaliation for a $100 million arms deal on February 7 that "harmed China's security interests, significantly undermined China-US relations, and peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait," according to foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin.
Beijing regards Taiwan, which is self-ruled, as a renegade province that must recognize Chinese sovereignty, and it has never shied away from using force to achieve that aim.
"In accordance with the relevant stipulations in China's anti-foreign sanctions law, the Chinese government has decided to take countermeasures on the infringing acts of Raytheon Technologies and Lockheed Martin," Wang said.
"Both are military enterprises that have long participated in US arms sales to China's Taiwan region."
