Beijing Fires Back at US Sanctions on Two Chinese Firms

Beijing didn't wait long to swing back. China's Ministry of Commerce said Saturday it firmly opposes new US sanctions on two Chinese companies, and warned it's keeping a few options in its back pocket, according to the Global Times.

A ministry spokesperson framed the penalties as unilateral punishment aimed at firms over their dealings with a third party. That, the spokesperson said, runs against international law and the basic norms of how countries are supposed to treat each other.

The message didn't stop at objection. China urged Washington to correct what it called its wrongful practices as soon as possible, and said it reserves the right to take necessary measures to protect its legitimate rights and interests.

The two companies were caught in a State Department action announced earlier this month, part of a broader sanctions package targeting people and entities accused of supporting the Cuban leadership and cybercrimes. The department said the designations were meant to hinder efforts to end what it described as the Cuban regime's malign activities across the hemisphere.

The dust-up lands in the middle of a busy stretch for US-China relations. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pressed Beijing on Friday to honor its commitments under the Busan arrangement, saying continued progress depends on concrete results, while President Donald Trump told an audience at NASA's Kennedy Space Center that whoever wins what he calls Super Intelligence wins, and that America leads China by a year or more.

So where does this go? China's phrasing — reserving the right to necessary measures — is the same language that has preceded past countermeasures. For now, it's a warning shot, but one fired on the record and aimed squarely at Washington.