China signaled on Tuesday that it is willing to go further than before in its trade tit-for-tat with President Trump by hitting a top American biotechnology company.
China’s Ministry of Commerce said it would ban Illumina, a San Diego company, from importing its gene-mapping products in China. Illumina is the world’s leading producer of gene-sequencing machines and counts on China for 7 percent of its sales.
Beijing also said it took action against dozens of other companies from the United States as part of a volley of action against Washington in retaliation for another of tariffs.
Chinese officials singled out 15 companies, including the drone maker Skydio, for punitive trade measures to “safeguard national security and interests.” It also said it added another 10 American companies to what it calls an “unreliable entities list” preventing them from doing any business in China.
Both blacklists have increasingly become go-to tactics for Beijing in striking back at Washington in their escalating trade war. But in the past, Beijing has taken narrower action, targeting defense companies related to arms sales with Taiwan and companies with little to 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. Beijing put the company on a blacklist last month, together with PVH, the clothing maker behind Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger.