The Chinese Weren't Kidding ...

When they told Zhou and Janet they weren’t going to put up with US bullying:

China Slaps American Defense Companies With Sanctions After Learning They Support Taiwan

This isn’t something to take lightly. It’s well known that many US defense contractors rely on China for parts. Nor did the Chinese go after companies that nobody ever heard of:

The Chinese government placed sanctions on two American defense contractors on Wednesday due to their support of arms sales to Taiwan. These sanctions also freeze the assets of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems and General Dynamics Land Systems held within China and also ban the management of the two companies from entering China. Both companies make products and or parts for products that are in use by the Tawainese military. General Dynamics is known for products like the F-16, an American strike fighter that the Tawainese also fly, and the Gulfstream brand of executive business jets, while General Atomics is known for advanced Unmanned Aerial Vehicles like the MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper.

“The continued U.S. arms sales to China’s Taiwan region seriously violate the one-China principle and the provisions of the three China-U.S. joint communiqués, interfere in China’s internal affairs, and undermine China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” China’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement. It insists that the mainland and the island to which Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalist forces fled amid civil war in 1949 remain part of a single Chinese nation.

These sanctions come after repeated threats of sanctions by the Chinese government against American companies, ... However, a recently passed law effectively calls for China to retaliate against American sanctions or restrictions placed on Chinese officials who are accused of human rights violations against the people of China. General Dynamics has several Gulfstream and jet aviation services operations in China, while their fully owned entities are registered in Hong Kong. ... 

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China banned American firms Lockheed Martin Corp. and Raytheon Missiles & Defense from the Chinese market in retaliation for the use of one of their planes and a missile to shoot down a suspected spy balloon that flew over the continental United States last year. Similar balloons have frequently been discovered floating over Taiwan and into the Pacific Ocean.

Turn about would appear to be fair play. The US, often for domestic political purposes, has insisted on yanking China’s chain. After Yellen’s threat-fueled visit the Chinese appear to be daring Zhou to cut off Chinese stuff from the American market—as if we can actually function without their stuff. The Chinese probably figure they can turn even more to the Russian Aerospace industry, which they already have long experience with. In any event, expecting the Chinese to put up with Yellen and Zhou and their bogus “overcapacity” gaslighting and their long running and overt provocations—sanctioning Chinese officials, stationing US troops on Chinese soil (islands that we recognize as part of China), etc., etc.—was always stupid.

My hope is that Trump will turn repeated Zhou regime own goals in the foreign policy area into something more constructive than he has so far in this campaign.