China has announced the removal of sanctions on Viasat Inc., a U.S. communications company, marking a rare reversal after initially targeting the firm for its proposed arms sales to Taiwan.
During a regular press briefing in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning declared the decision concerning Viasat Inc.
Earlier this year, in January, China had imposed sanctions on Viasat and four other American defence companies. These sanctions included freezing the companies’ assets in China and banning any transactions or cooperation with the firms by Chinese organizations and individuals. This action followed closely after the U.S. State Department authorized a potential $30 crore weapons sale to Taiwan, an island that Beijing intends to take control of eventually.
Viasat has multiple subsidiaries involved in business operations related to China, including a local branch of Inmarsat, a British satellite services provider acquired by the U.S. company in 2023.
Inmarsat gained recognition a decade earlier for utilizing satellite data to deduce the potential flight path of the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.
Prior to its acquisition by Viasat, Inmarsat had as one of its major clients in China the state broadcaster China Central Television, which was significantly investing in global video transmission.
