BEIJING (AP) — China on Thursday announced sanctions against two U.S. companies over what it says is their support for arms sales to Taiwan, the self governing island democracy Beijing claims as its own territory to be recovered by force if necessary.

The announcement freezes the assets of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems and General Dynamics Land Systems held within China. The measure also bars the companies' management from entering the country.

It wasn’t immediately clear what, if any, assets the companies have within China, which remains heavily reliant on foreign aerospace technology even as it attempts to build its own presence in the field.