US blacklists Chinese companies calling them threats

The United States added dozens of Chinese companies, including the country’s top chipmaker SMIC and Chinese drone manufacturer SZ DJI Technology Co, to a trade blacklist on Friday as US President Donald Trump’s administration ramps up pressure on China in his final weeks in office, CNBC reported.

Reuters first reported the addition of SMIC and dozens of additional companies early Friday. The move is seen as the latest in Republican Trump’s efforts to cement his tough-on-China legacy as part of the lengthy fight between Washington and Beijing over trade and numerous economic issues.

The US Commerce Department said the action against SMIC “stems from China’s military-civil fusion (MCF) doctrine and evidence of activities between SMIC and entities of concern in the Chinese military-industrial complex.”

The department also said it was adding the world’s biggest drone company DJI to the list along with AGCU Scientech; China National Scientific Instruments and Materials, and Kuang-Chi Group for allegedly enabling “wide-scale human rights abuses within China through abusive genetic collection and analysis or high-technology surveillance.”

In an address to the Asia Society on Friday, China’s State Councillor Wang Yi, who is also the country’s foreign minister, noted the expanding list of US sanctions and called on Washington to stop its “arbitrary suppression” of Chinese companies.

The Commerce Department released a list of 77 companies and affiliates to the so-called entity list, including 60 Chinese companies. Reuters reported earlier the department was adding about 80 companies, most of them Chinese.

China’s foreign ministry said that if true, the blacklisting would be evidence of US oppression of Chinese companies and that Beijing would continue to take “necessary measures” to protect their rights.

MH