Lockheed Martin, Raytheon hit as China slaps dual-use export ban on 28 US defence firms

China has banned the export of dual-use products to 28 US defence contractors, the Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday.

The move aims to maintain national security and fulfil international obligations including non-proliferation, the ministry said.

General Dynamics, Boeing Defence, Space & Security, Lockheed Martin Corporation and Raytheon Missiles & Defence are among the firms on the bans list.

The defence and aerospace firms were also on the sanctions list declared by Beijing’s foreign ministry late last year in response to continued US arms sales to Taiwan.

“To safeguard national security and interests, and fulfil international obligations including non-proliferation, [the latest action was taken] based on China’s export control law and regulation on export control of dual-use items,” the commerce ministry said in a statement.

Ten of the defence contractors were also added to Beijing’s unreliable entities list over arms sales to Taiwan, according to a separate commerce ministry statement on Thursday.