China says will take necessary measures on U.S. arms sales to Taiwan

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's foreign ministry said the country will take necessary measures to uphold its sovereignty and security interests, after the United States approved a further $2.4 billion in potential arms sales to Taiwan.

China urges the United States to stop the arms sales to prevent further damage to China-U.S. relations, foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a regular news conference in Beijing on Tuesday.

China on Monday announced it would sanction Lockheed Martin, Boeing Defense, Raytheon and other U.S. companies it says are involved in Washington's arms sales to Taiwan.

(Reporting by Yew Lun Tian; Writing by Gabriel Crossley; Editing by Himani Sarkar)