In a sign of its willingness to go further in response to President Trump's tariffs, Beijing has blocked more American companies from importing goods into China.
China signaled Tuesday that it is willing to go further than ever in its trade battle with President Trump by targeting a leading U.S. biotech company.
China's Commerce Ministry said it would bar San Diego-based Illumina from importing its gene-mapping products into China. Illumina is the world's leading maker of gene-sequencing machines and relies on China for 7 percent of its sales.
Beijing also said it had taken action against dozens of other U.S. companies as part of a series of measures against Washington in response to the latest round of tariffs.
Chinese officials have singled out 15 companies, including drone maker Skydio, for punitive trade measures to “safeguard national security and interests.” They also said they had added 10 more U.S. companies to what they called an “unreliable entity list,” preventing them from doing any business in China.
Both blacklists have increasingly become a tactic for Beijing to hit back at Washington in its escalating trade war. But Beijing has taken narrower actions in the past, targeting defense companies linked to arms sales to Taiwan and companies with little or no presence in China.
This time, Beijing went further and banned Illumina from doing business in China, accusing it of violating market transaction rules and discriminating against Chinese companies. Last month, Beijing blacklisted the company along with PVH, the clothing maker behind Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger.
