Boeing Says No Sanctions News from China

Feb. 1, 2010
Beijing threatened to impose sanctions after Boeing's McDonnell Douglas sold Harpoon missiles to Taiwan.

Boeing said on Feb. 1 it had not been notified of any sanctions imposed by China in retaliation for a major U.S. arms sale to Taiwan.

Beijing said on Jan. 30 it would suspend military and security contacts with Washington, and threatened to impose sanctions on U.S. firms involved in the deal. Through its McDonnell Douglas unit, Boeing is one of the companies.

"We have yet to receive any notice" related to possible sanctions, Boeing China spokesman Wang Yukui said, adding that China was a "very important" market for the plane maker.

China is Boeing's biggest international market, and the company is working hard to grab the lion's share of the booming demand it expects in coming years from Chinese airlines.

Boeing's McDonnell Douglas is selling Harpoon missiles to Taiwan as part of the $6.4 billion arms sale announced by the Pentagon on Jan. 29.

Lockheed Martin is providing Patriot anti-missile batteries, and United Technologies unit Sikorsky Aircraft is supplying Black Hawk helicopters.

Cai Yan, an official in Sikorsky's marketing department in Shanghai, said she was "unaware of the situation."

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2010

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