China hits US with sanctions, drone export curbs ahead of Xi visit

Key Points:

• China announced retaliatory sanctions against several U.S. companies, including a biotech and a resource analytics firm, and tightened export controls on drones and related technologies in response to recent U.S. measures targeting Chinese firms.
• Six companies were added to China’s countermeasures list following the U.S. ban on imports from 43 Chinese companies over alleged human rights abuses of Uyghurs and other minorities, while a seventh was linked to the U.S. FCC ban on new robot imports.
• Beijing also launched a national security investigation into imported office equipment with foreign software and suspended certain factory inspection collaborations with the U.S., emphasizing that these countermeasures were necessary responses to American actions.
• The U.S. has recently imposed multiple sanctions and blacklists on Chinese entities, including bans on drones, robots, shipping operators linked to Iranian fuel, and top civilian universities, amid escalating tech and trade tensions.
• These developments come weeks before a planned summit between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and President Donald Trump, with both sides engaging in preparatory talks to maintain “constructive strategic stability” despite ongoing disputes.