U.S. firms involved in arms sales to Taiwan will pay a heavy price

China Plus Published: 2019-07-14 00:10:22
Comment
Share
Share this with Close
Messenger Messenger Pinterest LinkedIn

Note: The following article is taken from the Chinese-language "Commentaries on International Affairs".

The Chinese Foreign Ministry announced on Friday (July 12th) that China will impose sanctions on U.S. companies involved in arms sales to Taiwan. The announcement came after the United States earlier announced a plan to sell weapons worth 2.22 billion U.S. dollars to Taiwan. The sanctions are a necessary and decisive action taken by a sovereign country to defend its core national interests.

Taiwan is an inalienable part of China. The arms sales undertaken by American companies are not simply business deals; the sales undermined China's sovereignty and national security. China's decision to impose sanctions on US companies involved in the sales is reasonable and legitimate. The Chinese government and enterprises will never do business in any form with entities that harm China's national interests.

China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang speaks on sanctions against US companies involved in arms sales to Taiwan, July 12, 2019. [Photo: fmprc]

China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang speaks on sanctions against US companies involved in arms sales to Taiwan, July 12, 2019. [Photo: fmprc]

Does the United States really want to help protect Taiwan's security when it sells weapons to the region? Sadly not. In the U.S. It is no secret that the government’s interest is deeply tied to that of groups of arms-dealers. In selling outdated weapons to Taiwan at high prices, the U.S. not only tried to use the Taiwan question as a leverage against China, but also treated Taiwan as a cash cow to fulfill the interests of its arms-dealers.

Since the current administration came to power, the United States has even taken a step further, placing arms dealers directly at the negotiating table with weapons buyers. In April 2018, for example, the U.S. State Department allowed American companies to provide sensitive submarine technologies to the Taiwan authorities in the form of commercial sales, which is equivalent to authorizing U.S. military enterprises to negotiate directly with Taiwan.

U.S. arms sales to Taiwan are by no means simple commercial activities. China's national sovereignty is inviolable and its internal affairs shall not be interfered with. The approval of arms sales to Taiwan will not only harm peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, but will also damage cooperation in important areas between China and the US. Any enterprise or individual that attempts to challenge China's national sovereignty for its own interests will ultimately have to pay a heavy price for such short-sighted behavior.

Related stories

Share this story on

Columnists

LU Xiankun Professor LU Xiankun is Managing Director of LEDECO Geneva and Associate Partner of IDEAS Centre Geneva. He is Emeritus Professor of China Institute for WTO Studies of the University of International Business and Economics (UIBE) and Wuhan University (WHU) of China and visiting professor or senior research fellow of some other universities and think tanks in China and Europe. He also sits in management of some international business associations and companies, including as Senior Vice President of Shenzhen UEB Technology LTD., a leading e-commerce company of China. Previously, Mr. LU was senior official of Chinese Ministry of Commerce and senior diplomat posted in Europe, including in Geneva as Counsellor and Head of Division of the Permanent Mission of China to the WTO and in Brussels as Commercial Secretary of the Permanent Mission of China to the EU. Benjamin Cavender Benjamin Cavender is a Shanghai based consultant with more than 11 years of experience helping companies understand consumer behavior and develop go to market strategies for China. He is a frequent speaker on economic and consumer trends in China and is often featured on CNBC, Bloomberg, and Channel News Asia. Sara Hsu Sara Hsu is an associate professor from the State University of New York at New Paltz. She is a regular commentator on Chinese economy. Xu Qinduo Xu Qinduo is CRI's former chief correspondent to Washington DC, the United States. He works as the producer, host and commentator for TODAY, a flagship talk show on current affairs. Mr. Xu contributes regularly to English-language newspapers including Shenzhen Daily and Global Times as well as Chinese-language radio and TV services. Lin Shaowen A radio person, Mr. Lin Shaowen is strongly interested in international relations and Chinese politics. As China is quite often misunderstood in the rest of the world, he feels the need to better present the true picture of the country, the policies and meanings. So he talks a lot and is often seen debating. Then friends find a critical Lin Shaowen criticizing and criticized. George N. Tzogopoulos Dr George N. Tzogopoulos is an expert in media and politics/international relations as well as Chinese affairs. He is Senior Research Fellow at the Centre International de Européenne (CIFE) and Visiting Lecturer at the European Institute affiliated with it and is teaching international relations at the Department of Law of the Democritus University of Thrace. George is the author of two books: US Foreign Policy in the European Media: Framing the Rise and Fall of Neoconservatism (IB TAURIS) and The Greek Crisis in the Media: Stereotyping in the International Press (Ashgate) as well as the founder of chinaandgreece.com, an institutional partner of CRI Greek. David Morris David Morris is the Pacific Islands Trade and Investment Commissioner in China, a former Australian diplomat and senior political adviser. Harvey Dzodin After a distinguished career in the US government and American media Dr. Harvey Dzodin is now a Beijing-based freelance columnist for several media outlets. While living in Beijing, he has published over 200 columns with an emphasis on arts, culture and the Belt & Road initiative. He is also a sought-after speaker and advisor in China and abroad. He currently serves as Nonresident Research Fellow of the think tank Center for China and Globalization and Senior Advisor of Tsinghua University National Image Research Center specializing in city branding. Dr. Dzodin was a political appointee of President Jimmy Carter and served as lawyer to a presidential commission. Upon the nomination of the White House and the US State Department he served at the United Nations Office in Vienna, Austria. He was Director and Vice President of the ABC Television in New York for more than two decades.