BEIJING — China suspended military exchanges with the United States, threatened unprecedented sanctions against American defense companies and warned Saturday that cooperation would suffer after Washington announced $6.4 billion in planned arms sales to Taiwan.
The response to Friday’s U.S. announcement, while not entirely unexpected, was swift and indicated China plans to put up a greater challenge than usual as it deals with the most sensitive topic in U.S.-China relations.
China’s Defense Ministry said the arms sales to self-governing Taiwan, which the mainland claims as its own, cause “severe harm” to U.S.-China cooperation, the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported. Vice ministerial-level talks on arms control and strategic security were postponed.
The warning comes as the U.S. seeks Beijing’s help on issues that include the global financial crisis and nuclear standoffs in North Korea and Iran. Tensions already were high after recent U.S. comments on Internet freedom and a dispute between Google and China as well as President Barack Obama’s plan to meet with Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama this year.
The U.S. plans to sell Black Hawk helicopters, Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missiles and other weapons to Taiwan.
