In a rare reversal, China has announced that it is removing sanctions on US communications company Viasat Inc. The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman stated that the situation had changed since the measures were put in place, without providing further details. China had previously sanctioned Viasat Inc and four other US defense companies in January, freezing their properties in China and prohibiting transactions and cooperation with the companies. The move comes after the US State Department approved $300 million in possible weapons sales to Taiwan, which had escalated tensions between China and the US [835ff3ea].
This development marks a significant change in China's stance towards US defense companies involved in arms sales to Taiwan. Previously, China had imposed sanctions on six US defense industry companies and five executives in response to the US approval of a major sale of kamikaze drones to Taiwan. The sanctioned companies included Anduril Industries, Maritime Tactical Systems, Pacific Rim Defense, AEVEX Aerospace, LKD Aerospace, and Summit Technologies Incorporated. Three executives from Anduril Industries and two executives from AeroVironment were also sanctioned. Anduril Industries, one of the sanctioned companies, had responded to the sanctions by stating that they remain committed to defending democracy [d405b54e] [835ff3ea].
China's decision to lift sanctions on Viasat Inc is seen as a positive development in US-China relations. The lifting of sanctions comes after the US and China reached an agreement on trade issues. The sanctions were initially imposed on Viasat Inc due to its alleged involvement in activities harmful to China's national security. The reference ID for this article is gFy8Zov9 [f224759b].