In response to successive sanctions by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Department of Homeland Security, China has announced countermeasures, including tighter export controls on drone parts.

In an announcement today, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce stated, "To safeguard national security and interests and fulfill international obligations such as non-proliferation, we have decided to strengthen export controls to the United States on dual-use items related to unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) [materials with both civilian and military applications]."

The ministry specified that the export to the U.S. of unmanned aerial vehicles, related parts, and technologies included in the "China Dual-Use Export Control List" will be "strictly reviewed on a case-by-case basis, and licensing facilitation measures will not be applied."

China also announced the suspension of certification cooperation with the U.S. and sanctions against individual U.S. companies.

According to China Central Television (CCTV), the Certification and Accreditation Administration of China decided to suspend, starting today, the procedure whereby China Compulsory Certification (CCC) designated institutions commission U.S. certification bodies to conduct factory follow-up audits.

CCC is a mandatory certification for distribution within China, covering electrical and home appliances, computers, communication equipment, and automobiles. This measure is expected to make the export process of U.S. products to China even more rigorous.

Additionally, in retaliation for U.S. sanctions against Chinese companies over the issue of "Uyghur forced labor," the Ministry of Commerce decided to sanction six entities: U.S. companies Applied DNA Sciences, Stratum Reservoir, Altana Technologies, and Verité Group, alongside non-governmental organizations Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) and Human Rights in China.

A ban on transactions with China was also imposed on Compliance Testing, a U.S. certification firm, on the grounds that it supported U.S. FCC sanctions against China.

Furthermore, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced through a separate notice today that office equipment such as imported printers and copiers embedded with "foreign system software" could pose a national security threat, and that it has initiated a security investigation into import statuses, domestic dependency in China, and their impacts.

China argued that the U.S. FCC has implemented sanction measures targeting China across areas such as telecommunications operations, inspection laboratories, unmanned aerial vehicles, consumer routers, and submarine fiber-optic cables, and recently restricted imports of advanced robotic equipment and power inverters, which it claims violates the agreement between the leaders of China and the U.S.

The Chinese side made it clear that these measures are a response to U.S. sanctions.

A Ministry of Commerce spokesperson pointed out, "Since the China-U.S. summit in Busan, the U.S. FCC has continuously generalized the concept of national security, despite strong opposition from China and earnest appeals from industries in both countries." The spokesperson added, "In particular, ignoring China's repeated representations, the U.S. added over 40 Chinese companies to the 'Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List' on July 31, right after the video call between the heads of the China-U.S. economic and trade teams on July 30."

The spokesperson stated, "China's countermeasures are restrained overall," adding, "China cherishes the hard-won stability in China-U.S. economic and trade relations, and we hope the U.S. will meet China halfway."

The spokesperson further demanded, "China urges the U.S. to immediately withdraw the relevant measures and halt its wrongful actions," adding, "Should the U.S. persist with new restrictive measures against China, China will take further countermeasures."

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)