On Wednesday, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced a series of countermeasures, including further tightening export controls on drones and related technologies, sanctioning seven American companies, and launching the first national security investigation related to foreign trade.
According to an analysis by Nanhua Morning Post on August 6th, this new round of countermeasures highlights the continuous expansion of Beijing's economic policy tools, and also indicates that China is increasingly willing to use these tools.
Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI) Deputy Director Wendy Cutler stated: "The series of actions undertaken by China demonstrate the breadth and depth of its toolkit for countermeasures."
She also stated that Beijing's response today stands in sharp contrast to China's 'ability and willingness' to counter measures during Trump's first term in office.
One of the companies sanctioned, Compliance Testing LLC based in Arizona, stated that China’s actions were “a bit unexpected,” but argued that the company's work serves to protect the national security interests of the United States.
This company is a testing laboratory and telecommunications certification agency recognized by the US Federal Communications Commission, providing testing services for electronic products. China has imposed sanctions on it because it assisted the Federal Communications Commission in implementing measures that Beijing believes harm "China’s sovereignty, security, and development interests."
Since 2020, China has continuously expanded its set of economic policy tools, introducing more laws, regulations, and trade measures. The aim is to respond more effectively to US restrictions and reduce the asymmetry in policy tools available to both sides.
Currently, Beijing has established a legal framework that includes the Export Control Law, the Provisions on Unreliable Entities, the Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law, and the Foreign Trade Law.
"These measures indicate that China's countermeasure framework and policy toolkit have matured," said Sourabh Gupta, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for China-America Studies.
The most significant export control measure in Beijing to date occurred in April 2025, when China imposed comprehensive export restrictions on seven types of rare earths. This led to disruptions in the global supply chain and caused some factories to temporarily shut down. The trade truce reached between China and the United States last October helped prevent the crisis from escalating further.
US-China Business Council Vice President Kyle Sullivan posted on social media: "Beijing is sending a signal that its range of policy tools is expanding, and it is willing to use these tools. At the same time, it is also leaving room for cooling down the situation."
Sullivan also noted that China has initiated a national security investigation for the first time under the Foreign Trade Law, targeting imported printing and copying office equipment that uses foreign software. American technology companies such as Microsoft and HP are important participants in the printing software market.
He added, “Compared with some past countermeasures, this entire set of measures looks more precise and more coordinated.”
This indicates that China is establishing a more diversified set of policy tools in response to US economic security measures, rather than relying on temporary countermeasures.
A senior U.S. government official changed the story on Wednesday, criticizing China's latest sanctions measures, and even warning that Beijing's actions could undermine efforts to stabilize the economic and trade relations between the two major economies in the world.
This official announced in a statement that "the Chinese side has chosen to declare a new round of escalation measures, and we are deeply disappointed."
The play of a bad person complaining first is performed brilliantly in the declaration.
In the past two months, Beijing has taken a series of actions that harmed U.S. economic interests and made achieving stable and balanced trade relations between the two countries more difficult.
This official has confused his hearing and vision; he claims that although the Trump administration maintains close communication with senior Chinese officials, "the ongoing escalation of mutual retaliation will not lead to lasting solutions."
He added, "President Trump will not allow American workers and manufacturers to continue bearing the cost of these practices."
The United States Department of State also acted like a thief calling out another thief, attributing the blame to China. They claimed that Chinese measures put American businesses at a disadvantage and harmed the interests of American workers.
U.S. Department of State spokesperson shifting blame: "China's actions have placed American businesses at a competitive disadvantage and squeezed American workers out of job opportunities."
However, Sullivan emphasized that although China has introduced a wide range of measures, “the overall response seems quite restrained.”
Beijing actually has more and more lethal means that could be used, but they haven't been utilized.
Gupta of the China-US Institute said that China's policy tools are 'no longer just for display, but actually have practical application capabilities.'
Guptha said, "Looking back in the next few decades, these past five years will likely be seen as a crucial historical moment that marked the beginning of China's modern economic governance era."
