China sanctions 5 US defense companies over arms sales to Taiwan

China announced sanctions on Sunday on five American defense-related companies in response to US arms sales to Taiwan and US sanctions on Chinese companies and individuals.

The sanctions will freeze any property companies have in China and prohibit organisations and individuals in China from doing business with them, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement posted online.

It was unclear what impact, if any, the sanctions would have on the companies; BAE Systems Land and Armaments, Alliant Techsystems Operations, AeroVironment, Viasat and Data Link Solutions. Such sanctions are often mostly symbolic as American defense contractors generally don’t sell to China.