On Wednesday, August 5, 2026, China announced new restrictions on drone exports to the United States and blacklisted six American companies as countermeasures to recent trade sanctions imposed by Washington. These US sanctions addressed issues including forced labor and national security.
A spokesperson for China's commerce ministry stated that the US actions "seriously harm China's legitimate rights and interests." The ministry emphasized that "China can only take necessary countermeasures in response, including strengthening export controls on drones, and their key components and technology to the US."
Additional measures from Beijing include suspending factory follow-up inspections by Chinese certification bodies, blacklisting US compliance testing companies, and initiating national security investigations into imports of office printers and copiers.
Among the six US companies sanctioned are Applied DNA Sciences, a biotech firm, and Stratum Reservoir, a geoscience research company. The commerce ministry barred organizations and individuals within China from "engaging in relevant transactions, cooperation, or other activities with them," citing that these entities "have assisted and supported illegal US sanctions related to Xinjiang; the nature of their actions is egregious."
China's top trade official, He Lifeng, expressed "serious concern" over these restrictions during a call with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, according to state news agency Xinhua.
These Chinese countermeasures come days after the US imposed fresh tariffs on China and 59 other countries, continuing a series of recent trade actions.
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