China Urges Cooperation With US While Tightening Sanctions on Defense Firms

Saturday 27 December 2025 - 08:50

By: Dakir Madiha

China Urges Cooperation With US While Tightening Sanctions on Defense Firms

China’s ruling Communist Party has renewed its appeal for cooperation with the United States, framing the relationship between the two powers as a crucial pillar of global economic and strategic stability even as frictions over security and trade intensify. In a prominent commentary carried by the official People’s Daily under the pen name Zhong Sheng, Beijing warned against reducing China United States ties to a simple contest of competition or confrontation and argued that both countries have a shared responsibility to maintain stability in an uncertain world. The article stressed that when the two sides work together, markets and international partners gain confidence, but when they drift toward open conflict, uncertainty and risk quickly spread through the global system.

The commentary highlighted recent leader level engagement as a key factor in preventing relations from deteriorating further, citing the late October meeting between President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping in the South Korean city of Busan. At that encounter the two leaders agreed to roll back some tariff measures and pause selected trade restrictions, sending a signal that both capitals still see value in maintaining a basic trade truce despite persistent disagreements over technology, industrial policy and national security. Chinese officials have pointed to the Busan discussions as evidence that direct dialogue at the highest level can help anchor expectations, calm financial markets and create space for working level talks on issues ranging from macroeconomic coordination to sector specific disputes.

Beijing’s call for steadier ties comes in the wake of a new Pentagon report that describes China’s rapid military modernization as a historic build up that has left the United States homeland increasingly vulnerable. The congressionally mandated assessment details the expansion of China’s nuclear arsenal and missile forces and portrays these developments as a direct challenge to American security and strategic dominance. Chinese officials have sharply rejected the report’s conclusions and language, accusing Washington of exaggerating the threat as a pretext to accelerate its own nuclear and military programs and to sow mistrust between China and other states.

Tensions have been further aggravated by the latest United States arms package for Taiwan, estimated in the tens of billions of dollars and described by analysts as one of the largest such deals in years. In response, Beijing has announced sanctions targeting 20 United States defense contractors and 10 senior executives involved in recent weapons sales to the island, describing the moves as countermeasures aimed at defending national sovereignty and security. Chinese authorities have repeatedly underscored that the Taiwan question sits at the core of what they call their vital interests and have warned that any entity participating in arms deliveries to Taipei should expect consequences. These steps add a punitive economic dimension to an already fraught security dispute and underline how commercial and defense ties are increasingly intertwined.

Despite the sharper rhetoric and retaliatory measures, Chinese officials continue to emphasize that high level economic and financial contacts are proceeding. Recent rounds of talks between senior economic and trade officials from both sides have focused on preserving channels of communication, limiting the risk of miscalculation and looking for pragmatic areas where interests still overlap, from financial stability to broader trade facilitation. The People’s Daily commentary invoked the memory of China and the United States fighting as allies during World War II as a reminder that even deep differences do not preclude cooperation when broader global interests are at stake. It argued that the two countries should concentrate on expanding the list of areas where they can work together and narrowing the list of disputes, positioning collaboration rather than confrontation as the more responsible path for major powers.