Beijing, China - The Chinese commerce ministry on Tuesday added another seven US companies to its "Unreliable Entity List" due to their sale of arms to Taiwan, Reuters reports.

Per Reuters, US firm Inter-Coastal Electronics – which specializes in telemetry and military training technology – has been blacklisted alongside six other arms-linked companies.

It is not clear which other companies have been added to the list, which is not public, but Reuters said that the announcement came directly from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce.

The "Unreliable Entity List" effectively sanctions any company within it, restricting its ability to export or import from China, or make investments within the country.

China Chinese artist sells Buddha-like Trump statues for extraordinary prices

The US has a similar "Entity List" which identifies and sanctions companies that are deemed a national security concern. This generally involves a set of export and import restrictions, and licensing requirements.

In late December, China slapped US defense firms with sanctions after the Biden administration authorized $571.3 million in military assistance to Taiwan, which Beijing sees as its sovereign territory.

These sanctions were followed on January 2 when Beijing blacklisted another ten US firms for providing military equipment.

In May 2024, China blacklisted Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, and Raytheon for their involvement in Taiwan and targeted Congressman Mike Gallagher with sanctions.

"No matter how they toss and turn, they cannot stop China from achieving complete reunification in the end, and Taiwan will surely return to the embrace of the motherland," Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi declared in a speech at the time.

"'Taiwan independence' separatist activities are the biggest destructive factor to peace in the Taiwan Strait."