China’s sanctions threat against US firms after Taiwan arms deal casts shadow over Gulfstream’s ‘optimism’
- Last week, despite opposition from Beijing, the United States approved a US$2.2 billion arms sale to Taiwan, which includes tanks, missiles and transporters
- Lawyer Shi Wanlin says the deal violates the Three Joint Communiqués, agreements which US President Donald Trump has previously cast doubt over
The threat of Chinese sanctions against firms from the United States over arms sales to Taiwan may cast a shadow over Gulfstream’s “optimism in the region”, according to a lawyer whose company has advised the business jet giant.
Last week, despite strong opposition from Beijing, the US State Department approved a US$2.2 billion arms sale to Taiwan, which includes 108 M1A2T Abrams tanks, 250 Stinger missiles and 16 M1070A1 heavy equipment transporters.
The Chinese authority has not announced any details of the potential sanctions, but on Monday Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said that “China's government and Chinese companies will not cooperate or have commercial contacts with these US companies”, without naming any specific firms.
The sanctions mentioned have a legal basis, because US’s arms sale to Taiwan has violated the Three Joint Communiqués between the US and China, which is to say, the arms sale do not agree with the one China principle
“The sanctions mentioned by the Foreign Ministry have a legal basis, because the US arms sale to Taiwan has violated the Three Joint Communiqués between the US and China, which is to say, the arms sale do not agree with the one China’ principle,” said Shi Wanlin, a lawyer at Dentons Beijing.
The Three Joint Communiqués are a collection of joint statements made by the governments of the US and China from 1972, 1979 and 1982 that played a crucial role in the establishment of relations between the two countries.