China has introduced a coordinated set of trade, export-control and certification measures in response to recent restrictions imposed by the US Federal Communications Commission and Department of Homeland Security. The Commerce Ministry framed the action as a defense of national rights and interests after measures covering technology companies, equipment and compliance systems.
The package combines four instruments: a national-security investigation into imported office equipment, tighter review of drone-related dual-use exports to the United States, restrictions on seven US entities and suspension of American certification bodies' authority to carry out follow-up factory inspections under China's compulsory product-certification system.
The office-equipment inquiry is China's first national-security investigation in the field of foreign trade. It targets imported printing and copying products that use foreign-developed, tested or maintained drivers and embedded software. Investigators will examine import volumes, dependence on foreign technology, domestic demand, the capacity of local industry and the effects of foreign government policies on security interests.
Exports to the United States of drones, key components and related technologies already included on China's dual-use control list will now undergo rigorous review case by case. These transactions will not qualify for facilitated licensing, adding another layer of scrutiny to a sector that has become central to the wider technological dispute.
Compliance Testing LLC was placed on China's countermeasure list over its assistance to FCC actions. Six additional organizations were restricted for supporting US sanctions connected to Xinjiang: Applied DNA Sciences, Stratum Reservoir, Altana Technologies, Responsible Business Alliance, Verite Group and Human Rights in China. Chinese organizations and individuals are prohibited from transactions or cooperation with all seven entities.
China's National Certification and Accreditation Administration also immediately suspended the authorization of US-based certification bodies to conduct follow-up factory inspections for products carrying China Compulsory Certification. The CCC regime is part of the country's market-access system and covers 106 product types across 17 categories affecting trade and consumer goods.
Beijing linked the response to a succession of FCC restrictions affecting telecommunications operations, testing laboratories, drones, consumer routers, submarine cables, advanced robotic devices and power inverters. It also cited the Homeland Security Department's addition of more than 40 Chinese entities to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act list on July 31, one day after a video call between the two countries' lead economic and trade officials.
The Commerce Ministry described the countermeasures as restrained and said China wants to preserve the recent stability in bilateral trade and economic ties. It demanded that Washington withdraw the contested measures and return to consultation, while warning that further US restrictions would produce additional Chinese responses. The sequence shows how certification, inspection and licensing rules are becoming operational tools in the strategic technology contest.
