China to impose sanctions on US over arms sales to Taiwan

This was stated by the official representative of the Chinese Foreign Ministry Wang Wenbin. According to the diplomat, the sanctions against the American military-industrial companies Lockheed Martin and Raytheon Technologies are introduced as "countermeasures" taken "in order to protect the sovereignty and security interests of China".

According to the Chinese authorities, the sanctioned American companies "have been involved in the supply of American weapons to Taiwan for a long period of time".

According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, the sale of arms to Taiwan grossly violates the "one China" principle, causing serious damage to the sovereignty and security interests of China, RIA Novosti notes.

The Chinese government has called on the US to cancel the arms deal with Taiwan. According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, such deals damage bilateral relations between Beijing and Washington and threaten peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait area.

The diplomat did not announce the exact dates and expected duration of anti-American sanctions.

The hotbed of tension between mainland China and Taiwan has been lingering since 1949, when the losing Kuomintang forces settled on the island in 1949.

Taiwan has retained the flag and a number of other attributes of the former Republic of China, which existed in the pre-communist era. Beijing considers China one of its provinces. The same opinion is shared by many countries, including the Russian Federation.

Although business contacts between China and Taiwan recovered in the 1980s, tensions remain. Official Beijing is lobbying for the "one China" policy, which assumes that Taiwan is part of Chinese territory under the influence of the PRC government.

Contacts of other countries bypassing Beijing are categorically not accepted by the Chinese authorities.

During the talks on February 4 between the heads of the Russian Federation and China, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, the parties signed an agreement, according to which China treats the security proposals put forward by Russia in Europe with "understanding", while Russia "opposes the independence of Taiwan in any was the form.

This statement caused an outburst of indignation in Taiwan.

“We strongly protest this matter”, - the Taiwanese authorities said.