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The Lockheed Martin pavilion at a defense exhibition in Malaysia in late April. Replicas of various fighter jets and other military hardware are on display. Lockheed Martin was placed on the Chinese Ministry of Finance's export control list on June 22. / Courtesy of China Daily

The Chinese government has announced fresh sanctions adding ten US defense, drone, and rare earth corporations to its dual-use export control list, while concurrently banning government procurement from 46 American companies, including Lockheed Martin. China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) announced on its website on June 22 that "to safeguard national security and interests and fulfill international non-proliferation obligations, the government has decided to include ten US firms in the export control management list under the Export Control Law and the Regulations on the Export Control of Dual-Use Items." MOFCOM further clarified, "Consequently, Chinese exporters are barred from exporting dual-use items to these ten enterprises. No organization or individual from any country or region is permitted to transfer or provide Chinese-origin dual-use items to these entities."

The export control list features drone and defense-related firms such as Aviox, Red Cat Holdings, Teal Drones, IMSAR, Xaya Robotics, Ball Aerospace & Technologies, Oshkosh Defense, and L3Harris Maritime Services, alongside rare earth producers MP Materials and USA Rare Earths.

According to MOFCOM, Chinese suppliers must immediately freeze all ongoing export activities with the designated entities based on this measure. In exceptional circumstances where exports are absolutely necessary, suppliers must formally apply for a permit from the Ministry of Commerce.

The latest move is widely interpreted as a direct countermeasure to the US government's recent expansion of its factual blacklist targeting Chinese Big Tech. Notably, on June 8 (local time), the US Department of Defense designated 188 Chinese entities—including e-commerce titan Alibaba, top search engine Baidu, and electric vehicle makers BYD and NIO—as "Chinese Military Companies."

While placement on the US list does not trigger immediate sanctions or export bans, it lays the groundwork for future restrictions on US government procurement and investments. This move naturally drew strong irritation from Beijing, making MOFCOM's swift retaliation highly anticipated.

Coinciding with the export restrictions, China's Ministry of Finance unveiled a procurement ban targeting products from 46 US companies. In a directive issued to central budgetary institutions and local financial authorities via its website, the ministry explained, "Following a formal review process in accordance with relevant laws and regulations, we have decided to implement restrictive measures against 46 US companies within our government procurement activities."

The procurement blacklist includes major defense firms such as Lockheed Martin, Raytheon Missiles & Defense, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, General Dynamics Land Systems, and Boeing Defense, Space & Security.

The parallel measures announced by the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Finance went into effect immediately on June 22, the day of notification, underscoring Beijing's swift, "tit-for-tat" retaliatory strategy.

                                                                                                           Hong Soon-do