China Transportation Construction Corporation (CCCC) issued a statement on August 30 saying that five of its dredging subsidiaries were blacklisted by the US from having any business activities in the US and will

`According to the 2019 annual report, the value of new contracts and revenue of the dredging segment accounts for about 6% of the company’s total new contract value and revenue. The company is mainly in the business of dredging waterways, improving

On August 26, the US Department of Commerce announced sanctions against 24 companies that played a role `in helping the Chinese military build and militarize internationally condemned artificial islands in the East Sea`, including the company

Vietnam’s Subi Reef was built up by China into an artificial island.

On August 26, the US State Department also issued a statement saying it would impose visa restrictions on Chinese individuals `responsible or complicit` in the above actions in the East Sea and those involved.

`In addition, the core equipment for the company’s dredging activities does not use any technology provided or exported by US enterprises,` CCCC’s announcement added, but the group also emphasized that it would

Satellite images from 2016 show CCCC dredging companies dispatching giant barges to dig sand from the seabed and load it onto remote atolls in the South China Sea, including Mischief Reef, Subi Reef and Fiery Cross Reef, which are part of the South China Sea.

While a direct impact is unlikely, there are questions about how CCCC’s overseas subsidiaries, including mid-sized marine engineering group Friede & Goldman, are headquartered.

China unilaterally drew the `cow tongue line`, an absurd claim of sovereignty over nearly the entire area of the East Sea, despite international opposition.

China has also recently carried out a series of aggressive activities in the East Sea in the context of countries focusing on dealing with Covid-19.

The US announced its stance on the East Sea issue in early July, rejecting almost all of China’s sovereignty claims.