China Sanction Lockheed Martin over Arms Sales to Taiwan

hackingbear writes: China said on Tuesday it would place sanctions on Lockheed Martin for its involvement in arms sales to Taiwan, a move that could further escalate tensions between Beijing and Washington. Taiwan, an island broke off from mainland China after the Republic of China government lost in a protracted civil war, has spent billions of dollars on advanced American military hardware since the US dumped the island and established formal diplomatic relation with the People's Republic in 1978 in a quasi-partnership to fight the Cold War. The US State Department last week approved a request by Taiwan to upgrade its Patriot Surface-to-Air missiles at an estimated cost of $620 million, according to Taiwan's government-run Central News Agency. In response, China is imposing "sanctions on the main contractor of this arms sale, Lockheed Martin," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said, without going into detail. The United States should "stop selling arms to Taiwan and cut its military ties to Taiwan, so it won't do further harm to bilateral relations between China and the United States," he added. It is also considered a tit-for-tat response against the US sanctions on Chinese firms Huawei and ZTE for their alleged business deals with Iran, a long-time arch rival of the US and Israel. It is not clear what kind of impact, if any, China’s action would have on Lockheed Martin. Some analysts have estimated that China represents 2 percent of the company’s revenue. Lockheed Martin subsidiary Sikorsky is involved in a joint venture called Shanghai Sikorsky Aircraft Co, a civilian helicopter company.