China Fines Firms for Missile-Related Exports

China fined two companies the equivalent of hundreds of thousands of dollars for violating missile-related export control regulations, the Chinese Commerce Ministry announced today (see GSN, April 5).

While refusing to identify the companies, the ministry said in a statement posted on its Web site that the penalized entities were a trading firm and a chemical company based in two eastern provinces, according to Agence France-Presse. The ministry also refused to detail the violations, including the items involved or to what countries they might have been shipped, AFP reported (Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar.com, May 25).

A U.S. State Department official told Global Security Newswire today that the ministry announcement represents the first time China has publicized penalizing companies for violating missile-related export control regulations.

“It’s very positive, but from our perspective, more penalizing needs to be done,” the official said (Mike Nartker, Global Security Newswire, May 25).

Back to top
About Newswire  |  Contact National Journal  |  Re-Use Guidelines © Copyright 2008 by National Journal Group, Inc. The material in this section is produced independently for NTI by National Journal Group, Inc. Any reproduction or retransmission, in whole or in part, is a violation of federal law and is strictly prohibited without the consent of the National Journal Group, Inc. All rights reserved.