The US has imposed new trade restrictions on a dozen more Chinese technology companies

Image credit: Global Times

A dozen more Chinese companies have been added to the US government’s restricted trade list, citing national security and foreign policy concerns. According to Washington, some of the companies are assisting in the development of the Chinese military’s quantum computing programme.

This latest action comes as tensions between the US and China over Taiwan’s status and other problems continue to rise.

Trade was one of the topics discussed at a virtual summit between the leaders of both countries earlier this month. For their alleged role in supporting the Chinese military’s quantum computing activities and obtaining or seeking to acquire US-originated items in support of military purposes, eight Chinese-based technology enterprises were added to the so-called Entity List.

Since the previous Trump administration, this entity list has been increasingly used for national security purposes.

A total of 27 new entities from China, Japan, Pakistan, and Singapore have been added to the list. Separately, the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology was added to the department’s military end-user list, despite the fact that the listing provided no more information other than the fact that it had manufactured military equipment.

“The new listings will help prevent American technology from being used to promote Chinese and Russian military advances and non-proliferation concerns like Pakistan’s unsafeguarded nuclear activities or ballistic missile programs,” Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said.

Before they may sell to the companies on the list, potential suppliers must apply for a licence, which is likely to be denied.

In 2019, Huawei, a Chinese telecoms company, was added to the list after concerns that it represented a threat to US national security.

As a result, it was cut off from some of its main suppliers, making it impossible for it to create mobile phones as a result of the shift. Previously, the Chinese government denied that it engages in industrial espionage.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *