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FM: China opposes US sanctions on two firms

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-02-03 20:33

BEIJING -- China expressed opposition Tuesday to the United States' decision to impose sanctions on two Chinese companies that allegedly violated US anti-proliferation laws.

A trader works at her shop in Yiwu, the world's largest wholesale market for small consumer goods, on Thursday January 15, 2009. China expressed opposition Tuesday to the United States' decision to impose sanctions on two Chinese companies. [Agencies]

"China's stance on anti-proliferation is clear," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told a regular news briefing.

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She said China firmly opposed the US sanctions against the Chinese companies and added that the action "was not good for healthy bilateral cooperation in the field of anti-proliferation."

The Obama administration on Monday announced it had imposed sanctions on companies in China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and Iran for violating US laws aimed at stopping the spread of missiles and other weapons technology.

The US government said it had determined that two Chinese companies, Dalian Sunny Industries and Bellamax, had engaged in activities that breached the Arms Export Control Act and the Export Administration Act of 1979, according to the Monday edition of the US Federal Register.

The United States also claimed that the two companies had engaged in proliferation activities, which violated Executive Order 12938 of November 14, 1994.

The sanctions, which took effect on February 2, bar the companies from providing goods, technology or services to US government agencies and departments for two years. The sanctions also bar the import of any goods, technology or services from these companies into the United States, the Register said.