Furious over the US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's high-profile visit to Taipei, the first by a top American official in 25 years, China on Wednesday announced punitive measures on outfits seeking "Taiwan independence", banned imports of some Taiwanese food products and suspended the export of natural sand.

China, which claims Taiwan as its territory and opposes any engagement by Taiwanese officials with foreign governments, announced a series of military exercises around the self-ruled island on Tuesday night after Pelosi landed in the Taiwanese capital, Taipei.