China will impose sanctions on Hanwha Ocean's five U.S.-based subsidiaries.
 
Beijing's Ministry of Commerce said in a statement Tuesday that organizations and individuals in China are now prohibited from cooperating or doing business with the South Korean shipbuilder’s five stateside affiliates.

The ministry claimed that the firms' involvement in Washington’s probe into China's shipping and shipbuilding industries threatened its sovereignty, security and development.

China's latest move comes as U.S.-China tensions continue boiling over into the shipping and shipbuilding sectors, with each side imposing a series of port fees on the other's vessels.
 
The sanctioned subsidiaries include Hanwha Shipping and Hanhwa Philly Shipyard, the firm's multibillion-dollar shipyard in Philadelphia that President Lee Jae-myung visited in August.