Beijing Hits Back at US Firms With New Sanctions and Drone Export Curbs

The Chinese Commerce Ministry placed Mesa-based Compliance Testing on a countermeasures list, effectively severing the laboratory's ability to conduct business within China. Authorities allege the firm facilitated Federal Communications Commission actions that undermined Chinese interests. Alongside this, six other organizations—including Applied DNA Sciences, Altana Technologies, and Human Rights in China—now face similar prohibitions. These entities are accused of supporting US sanctions linked to human rights allegations in Xinjiang, where supply-chain tracing and labor assessments have become central points of geopolitical friction.

Simultaneously, China has overhauled its drone export protocols for shipments bound for the United States. While not a total embargo, the new case-by-case review process eliminates previous licensing conveniences for dual-use drone components. This policy shift threatens to complicate supply chains for US manufacturers who rely on Chinese-made hardware. Beijing has further signaled its intent to challenge US oversight by halting the use of American-based agencies for mandatory factory inspections, signaling a broader push to decouple its product-certification systems from US-linked entities.