China condemns U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, vows countermeasures
Sale worth around $11 billion
The Trump administration has announced a huge arms sale worth around $11bn (£8.2bn) to Taiwan, which will be the second arms sale to Taiwan since Donald Trump returned to the White House in January.
The Chinese government has escalated its response to this arms sales, calling them a serious violation of core Chinese interests and pledging a suite of diplomatic and economic countermeasures, according to official statements and Chinese state media reports issued in December 2025.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun condemned the arms sales at a regular press briefing, saying that “no matter how many advanced weapons are sold to China’s Taiwan region, they cannot hinder the historical trend that China will eventually and surely be reunified”. He accused the United States of grossly interfering in China’s internal affairs, undermining China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and disrupting peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.
Guo said China “strongly deplores and firmly opposes” the move and urged Washington to strictly abide by the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiqués.
He warned that what the United States describes as “assistance in response to threat” would only embolden so-called “Taiwan independence” forces. According to Guo, such actions would “put the people in Taiwan on a powder keg, push the Taiwan Strait towards danger, and inevitably increase the risk of China-U.S. conflict and confrontation”, as quoted by Xinhua.
Beijing freezes assets of U.S. defence firms
On 26 December 2025, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced concrete countermeasures against 20 U.S. military-related companies and 10 senior executives under the country’s Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law.
The measures include the freezing of assets within China and a ban on transactions with Chinese entities. Senior executives named in the decision are also subject to visa bans and denied entry into mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau.
The sanctioned companies include major defence contractors such as Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation, L3Harris Maritime Services, Boeing in St. Louis and Gibbs & Cox Inc.
In its statement, the foreign ministry said the U.S. arms sales to Taiwan “seriously violate the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. Joint Communiqués, interfere in China’s internal affairs, and undermine China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.” The countermeasures took effect immediately upon announcement.
Broader strategic message to Washington
Chinese diplomatic and military statements over the past month have conveyed a consistent dual message: Beijing remains committed to peaceful reunification, but will respond firmly to any actions that it views as encouraging separatism or undermining its sovereignty.
State media commentary has repeatedly described reunification as a historical inevitability, while warning that external military involvement — particularly by the United States — risks destabilising the region.
The latest countermeasures, including asset freezes and entry bans, signal a shift from rhetorical condemnation to tangible punitive action, underlining Beijing’s intent to translate its warnings into policy.
UNGA Resolution 2758 solemnly confirms and fully embodies the one-China principle
On October 25, 1971, at the 26th session of the U.N. General Assembly, Resolution 2758 was adopted with an overwhelming majority, which “decides to restore all its rights to the People’s Republic of China and to recognize the representatives of its Government as the only legitimate representatives of China to the United Nations, and to expel forthwith the representatives of Chiang Kai-shek from the place where they unlawfully occupy at the United Nations and in all the organizations related to it.” The resolution makes it clear that there is but one China in the world and the Government of the People’s Republic of China is the only legitimate representative of the whole of China, including the Taiwan region.
UNGA Resolution 2758 solemnly confirms and fully embodies the one-China principle. The core meaning of the one-China principle includes three aspects: there is but one China in the world, the Taiwan region is an inalienable part of China’s territory, and the Government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China.
When asked to comment on U.S. President Donald Trump's recent remarks related to Taiwan, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said that “Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory, and the Taiwan question is purely China's internal affair. Resolving the Taiwan question is a matter for the Chinese people themselves, with no room for external interference,"
Meanwhile, Namibia has long reaffirmed its position on many occasions that it firmly adheres to the one-China principle, and supports China's efforts to safeguard its territorial integrity, including Taiwan.
The Chinese government has escalated its response to this arms sales, calling them a serious violation of core Chinese interests and pledging a suite of diplomatic and economic countermeasures, according to official statements and Chinese state media reports issued in December 2025.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun condemned the arms sales at a regular press briefing, saying that “no matter how many advanced weapons are sold to China’s Taiwan region, they cannot hinder the historical trend that China will eventually and surely be reunified”. He accused the United States of grossly interfering in China’s internal affairs, undermining China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and disrupting peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.
Guo said China “strongly deplores and firmly opposes” the move and urged Washington to strictly abide by the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiqués.
He warned that what the United States describes as “assistance in response to threat” would only embolden so-called “Taiwan independence” forces. According to Guo, such actions would “put the people in Taiwan on a powder keg, push the Taiwan Strait towards danger, and inevitably increase the risk of China-U.S. conflict and confrontation”, as quoted by Xinhua.
Beijing freezes assets of U.S. defence firms
On 26 December 2025, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced concrete countermeasures against 20 U.S. military-related companies and 10 senior executives under the country’s Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law.
The measures include the freezing of assets within China and a ban on transactions with Chinese entities. Senior executives named in the decision are also subject to visa bans and denied entry into mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau.
The sanctioned companies include major defence contractors such as Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation, L3Harris Maritime Services, Boeing in St. Louis and Gibbs & Cox Inc.
In its statement, the foreign ministry said the U.S. arms sales to Taiwan “seriously violate the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. Joint Communiqués, interfere in China’s internal affairs, and undermine China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.” The countermeasures took effect immediately upon announcement.
Broader strategic message to Washington
Chinese diplomatic and military statements over the past month have conveyed a consistent dual message: Beijing remains committed to peaceful reunification, but will respond firmly to any actions that it views as encouraging separatism or undermining its sovereignty.
State media commentary has repeatedly described reunification as a historical inevitability, while warning that external military involvement — particularly by the United States — risks destabilising the region.
The latest countermeasures, including asset freezes and entry bans, signal a shift from rhetorical condemnation to tangible punitive action, underlining Beijing’s intent to translate its warnings into policy.
UNGA Resolution 2758 solemnly confirms and fully embodies the one-China principle
On October 25, 1971, at the 26th session of the U.N. General Assembly, Resolution 2758 was adopted with an overwhelming majority, which “decides to restore all its rights to the People’s Republic of China and to recognize the representatives of its Government as the only legitimate representatives of China to the United Nations, and to expel forthwith the representatives of Chiang Kai-shek from the place where they unlawfully occupy at the United Nations and in all the organizations related to it.” The resolution makes it clear that there is but one China in the world and the Government of the People’s Republic of China is the only legitimate representative of the whole of China, including the Taiwan region.
UNGA Resolution 2758 solemnly confirms and fully embodies the one-China principle. The core meaning of the one-China principle includes three aspects: there is but one China in the world, the Taiwan region is an inalienable part of China’s territory, and the Government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China.
When asked to comment on U.S. President Donald Trump's recent remarks related to Taiwan, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said that “Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory, and the Taiwan question is purely China's internal affair. Resolving the Taiwan question is a matter for the Chinese people themselves, with no room for external interference,"
Meanwhile, Namibia has long reaffirmed its position on many occasions that it firmly adheres to the one-China principle, and supports China's efforts to safeguard its territorial integrity, including Taiwan.
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