China announces export restrictions on 20 Japanese entities
The 20 entities added to the export blacklist include various specialist subsidiaries and technology firms involved in supplying components and engineering support to the Japanese defence sector
Beijing has added 20 Japanese entities to its export control ‘blacklist’, barring them from accessing Chinese dual-use goods (civilian and military). These entities – including subsidiaries of the defence and aerospace giant Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, as well as the National Institute for Defence Studies, a think tank of the Japanese Ministry of Defence – have ‘contributed to strengthening Japan’s military capabilities’, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce explained in a statement. These restrictions aim to ‘safeguard national security and interests’ and to ‘fulfil international obligations, particularly regarding non-proliferation’, the ministry noted.
Bilateral tensions have escalated after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested last November that possible military intervention by Tokyo in the event of a Chinese attack on Taiwan, an island over which Beijing claims sovereignty. ‘For some time now, the Japanese side has increasingly been heading down the wrong path, stepping up the push towards a “new form of militarism” and deploying offensive weapons”, said a spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce in a further statement, adding that “China’s decision is fully justified, reasonable and legitimate” and that “it does not affect normal economic and trade relations between China and Japan”.
The Tokyo government, however, has described Beijing’s decision as ‘totally unacceptable and extremely regrettable’. Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara announced that the government had lodged a ‘strong formal protest’ with China, explicitly calling for the immediate withdrawal of the measures. “Our government has protested strongly and demanded that the measures be revoked. We will now carefully examine the implications of these measures and take the necessary action,” said Kihara. Beijing’s move comes against a backdrop of growing trade and strategic tensions between the two Asian powers, with controls on the export of dual-use technologies having become one of the main areas of geopolitical conflict in the Indo-Pacific region. The Japanese government has made it clear that it will carefully assess the practical implications for those affected before deciding on any countermeasures.
