China has sharply rebuked the United States following the imposition of fresh sanctions on companies allegedly involved in training Chinese military pilots and contributing to weapons development. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin called on Washington to cease employing export control measures to impede Chinese businesses, characterizing the U.S. actions as reaching a point of "unscrupulous hysteria."
Wang accused the U.S. of repeatedly overextending the concept of national security, leveraging state power to unfairly target Chinese companies, and disrupting the international economic and trade landscape. He demanded an immediate reversal of these practices, which he described as the politicization and weaponization of economic, trade, and technological matters under the guise of human rights or military concerns.
The U.S. government recently added 43 entities to an export control list, citing national security and foreign policy concerns. The list encompasses both Chinese and international firms, including Frontier Services Group Ltd., formerly led by Blackwater founder Erik Prince, and Test Flying Academy of South Africa, a flight school facing scrutiny for employing retired British military pilots to train Chinese aviators. These companies are now prohibited from receiving U.S. exports due to activities deemed detrimental to U.S. national interests.
The image depicts the American and Chinese flags at Genting Snow Park during the 2022 Winter Olympics, symbolizing the complex relationship between the two nations.
Additional companies were sanctioned for their purported roles in advancing China's hypersonic weapons program and modernizing its military. Two more firms were targeted for allegedly supplying equipment used to monitor Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities, further escalating tensions related to human rights in Xinjiang. Despite these ongoing disputes, both countries are striving to maintain communication channels to mitigate the risk of unintended conflict.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's anticipated visit to Beijing, previously delayed due to the alleged Chinese spy balloon incident, underscores the delicate balance between confrontation and diplomacy in the U.S.-China relationship.
