China lifts sanctions against viasat citing changes in circumstances

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By Sky Industry News

Aug 3, 2024

Viasat reports that its satellite communication services, including those in aviation, were only “minimally impacted” by China’s sanctions against the US firm, which have now been lifted.

On January 7, China sanctioned Viasat and four other American defense-related firms in response to US weapons sales to Taiwan. This move was largely seen as symbolic.

Observers of the inflight connectivity market were surprised by China's decision. For years, Viasat had established agreements with Chinese technology providers such as China Satcom to support high-speed inflight connectivity (IFC) for Chinese airlines. By December 2022, Sichuan Airlines had become a customer of Viasat. Additionally, after acquiring London-headquartered Inmarsat last year, Viasat gained significant cockpit communications business in China.

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During a press conference on July 22, Mao Ning, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, stated: “In accordance with China’s Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law and other relevant laws, since the circumstances based on which the countermeasures were issued have changed, China has decided to lift the countermeasures against Viasat.”

Bloomberg described this decision as a “rare reversal” for China. RGN sought comment from Viasat regarding this development.

“Viasat is pleased to confirm it has been removed from the list of sanctioned companies previously announced by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China on January 7th this year,” said a representative from Viasat.

“The announcement means that Viasat, Inc. is permitted to enable services in China in accordance with legal and regulatory requirements of that jurisdiction, including providing roaming service to our international airline customers flying into and over China.”

When asked about the impact on IFC due to China's prior sanctions, Viasat responded: “Viasat always operates in accordance with the legal and regulatory requirements of the US and any country in which it provides services."

“Under Chinese law, Viasat’s subsidiaries were permitted to continue operating in China and our services were therefore minimally impacted.”

Viasat did not provide an update on its IFC rollout at Sichuan Airlines.