Taiwan unfazed as China puts 8 Taiwanese firms on export control list

Taipei, July 9 (CNA) China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) on Wednesday announced export restrictions against eight Taiwanese companies, though Taiwanese scholars and the affected companies said the move would not significantly impact their commercial operations.

The restrictions, effective immediately, prohibit Chinese exports of dual-use items -- those with both civilian and military applications -- to the listed entities.

The affected Taiwanese entities are Aerospace Industrial Development Corp. (AIDC), Geosat Aerospace & Technology, National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology, JC Tech, CSBC Corp., Taiwan, Jong Shyn Shipbuilding Group, Lungteh Shipbuilding and GWS Technologies.

They were placed on China's export control list under the Export Control Law of the People's Republic of China and the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Export Control of Dual-use Items, according to a MOFCOM public notice.

Wu Se-chih (吳瑟致), a consultant at Taiwan Thinktank, told CNA the move is "more superficial than substantive."

"Production chains and industrial enterprise organizations of most of Taiwan's military-related industries are basically very weakly connected with China, or have few connections at all," he said.

Wu said Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party government has prioritized defense resilience and defense autonomy -- actions China opposes and seeks to "punish."

He suggested that the sanctions may be aimed at responding to Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te (賴清德), who in June gave speeches advocating Taiwanese unity in the face of China's annexation threat.

Wu also noted that the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council of the People's Republic of China has previously made public comments about the mass recall campaign currently underway in Taiwan.

Chang Wu-ueh (張五岳), director of the Center for Cross-Strait Relations at Tamkang University in New Taipei, linked the sanctions to three factors.

First, they may be a response to Taiwan's recent controls targeting Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC) and Huawei's semiconductor business, he said.

Second, the sanctions also coincide with the launch of Taiwan's Han Kuang military exercises, which Beijing may view as "pursuing independence through military force" or "relying on the U.S. to pursue independence," Chang said.

Lastly, he said the measures serve as an "anti-Taiwan independence" message, aimed both at Taiwanese and domestic Chinese audiences.

Chang also noted that most of the sanctioned companies do not have close business ties with Chinese suppliers.

In a statement on Wednesday, AIDC said the sanctions will have "limited impact" on its non-military commercial operations, while its defense-related business does not import from Chinese suppliers.

The same day, CSBC said its submarine and Coast Guard Administration projects are supplied primarily by vendors in Europe and the United States, while its commercial vessels use suppliers from Japan and South Korea.

CSBC added that the share of its supply chain linked to China is "extremely small" but said it will review the details of the sanctions to assess any potential impact.

Lungteh Shipbuilding said the sanctions won't impact its defense-related business, adding that Chinese-sourced components for its other commercial operations "all have a high level of replaceability."