Jan. 18, 2005, 9:09AM
Administration quietly penalizes Chinese firms
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The Bush administration has quietly applied new sanctions against eight Chinese companies for helping Iran with its missile programs, a senior U.S. official said today.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed a report in The New York Times that said the State Department had served notice to the Chinese firms early this month. A North Korean company was also penalized.
The official said the sanctions prohibit the companies from doing business in the United States, and ban them from obtaining licenses that allow them to export or obtain a patent for American technologies.
One of the companies was Norinco, China's biggest state-owned weapons maker. In May 2003, Washington sanctioned Norinco after accusing it of aiding Iran's long-range missile program. The company denied the accusation.
Other firms identified by the newspaper as among the eight were the China Great Wall Industry Corp. and the China Aero-Technology Import and Export Corp....cont'd
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