China adds 40 Japanese entities to export control lists
Beijing says the measures target dual-use trade as tensions with Tokyo deepen over defense policy and Taiwan.
By Lucas Ferreira · Science & Environment Writer
2 min read
China has placed 40 Japanese organizations under new export controls and review requirements, escalating a months-long dispute with Tokyo over defense policy and Taiwan. China’s Ministry of Commerce said Monday the measures were imposed for national security and non-proliferation reasons.
The ministry said 20 organizations were added to a blacklist that bars them from receiving dual-use goods, technologies and services with possible military applications. The listed entities include the state-affiliated National Institute for Defense Studies, the Naval Systems Research Center and the Ground Systems Research Center, as well as Mitsubishi Precision, MHI Logitech and Kawajyu Gifu Manufacturing, according to the ministry announcement reported by Al Jazeera.
Another 20 organizations were placed on a watch list that requires risk assessments and written assurances that exports will not support Japan’s military capabilities, the ministry said. Al Jazeera reported that Mitsui E&S, Terra Drone and Hitachi Advanced Systems were among the groups named in that category.
A Ministry of Commerce spokesperson defended the action as “entirely legitimate, reasonable, and lawful” and said it would not affect “normal China-Japan economic and trade exchanges.” The spokesperson accused Japan of moving toward what Beijing called “new militarism,” citing remilitarisation, offensive weapons deployments and overseas missile activity.
Japan rejected the measures. Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara called the controls “unacceptable” and urged Beijing to withdraw them, according to Al Jazeera.
The latest restrictions follow a similar step in February, when Beijing added 20 Japanese entities to a blacklist and another 20 to a monitoring list, Al Jazeera reported. The moves are part of a broader deterioration in relations between the two countries, whose ties have long been strained by historical and territorial disputes.
The current dispute sharpened after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested late last year that Japan could intervene militarily if China attempted to seize Taiwan, according to Al Jazeera. Beijing claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has said it must be reunified with the mainland.
Al Jazeera reported that Takaichi said a Chinese invasion could allow Japan to exercise the right of collective self-defence under its anti-militarist constitution. Her comments angered Beijing and added pressure to an already tense relationship.
Since becoming leader of the conservative Liberal Democratic Party and taking office in October, Takaichi has put national defence at the center of her administration, Al Jazeera reported. Her government has raised military spending to 2 percent of gross domestic product and pushed to amend the pacifist clause in Japan’s war-renouncing constitution.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.