The Framework and Operational Mechanisms of the U. S. Sanctions Lists against China

The United States has increasingly implemented decoupling strategies with China, marked by frequent updates to sanctions lists and stricter regulatory frameworks. This paper organizes U. S. sanctions against China from 1997 to 2024, highlighting their key types and characteristics. Since 2018, trade controls and financial sanctions have dominated, with a growing focus on Chinese high-tech and strategic enterprises. Given the heterogeneous characteristics of the sanctions lists, this study further constructs a U. S. sanctions framework against China that captures both detailed data and specific implications, which identifies underlying mechanisms in the sanctions lists:The Entity List serves as a primary tool for export controls, restricting the export of critical U. S. technologies to China. The Specially Designated Nationals List enforces comprehensive trade and financial sanctions, blocking Chinese entities and their affiliates while disrupting global supply chains. The Military Lists impose precautionary import controls and investment restrictions targeting China's defense-related entities. By integrating substantial dispersed sanctions data, this paper constructs a cohesive framework to provide insights into the evolving U. S.-China economic relationship and its impact on global supply chains, offering a theoretical foundation for assessing future geopolitical and economic dynamics.