China has added seven United States companies to its unreliable entity list for their selling arms to China's Taiwan region, the Ministry of Commerce said on Tuesday.

Despite China's strong opposition, several US companies, including Inter-Coastal Electronics, have participated in so-called military-technical cooperation with China's Taiwan region, engaging in arms sales that seriously undermine China's sovereignty, security and development interests, a spokesperson with the ministry said.

The US' repeatedly selling weapons to China's Taiwan region has blatantly violated the one-China principle and the three Sino-US joint communique, as well as international law, and has jeopardized peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, the spokesperson said.

China has always handled the unreliable entities list issue with caution, and has only taken legal action against a small number of foreign entities that have endangered China's security, the spokesperson said, stressing that law-abiding and trustworthy foreign entities have no reason to be concerned.

The Chinese government continues to welcome enterprises from all countries to invest and do business in China, and is committed to providing a stable, fair, and predictable business environment for compliant foreign-invested companies, the spokesperson added.

The seven aforementioned US companies are now prohibited from engaging in any import or export activities related to China. Additionally, they are barred from making new investments within China, and their senior management personnel are banned from entering the country, the Ministry said in a separate statement.

wangkeju@chiandaily.com.cn