Taipei said in July it was hopefully it would receive all 66 F-16V jets by the end of 2026, adding to one of Asia's largest fleets. The aircraft, approved for sale in 2019, are being built by Lockheed Martin— also sanctioned by China.

China has lodged solemn representations with the U.S. side over the matter, Zhang said. China on Wednesday announced steps against nine U.S. military-linked firms over U.S. weapon sales to Taiwan.

Taiwan's government and Bulgarian authorities Friday both denied making the exploding pagers used by Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The deadly simultaneous explosions triggered by hundreds of pagers carried by Hezbollah members in Lebanon have thrust a little-known Taiwanese electronics manufacturer into the global spotlight, after its damaged products were identified in images following the attack.

"The components for Hezbollah's pagers were not produced by us," Taiwan's economy minister Kuo Jyh-huei told reporters on Friday. He added that a judicial investigation is already under way. "I want to unearth the truth, because Taiwan has never exported this particular pager model," Taiwan foreign minister, Lin Chia-lung said.