Chinese lidar sensor maker Hesai’s removal from US blacklist clears global expansion path
- The Pentagon’s decision to drop Hesai from the so-called 1260H list paves the way for the company to build lidar sensor plants outside mainland China
The Department of Defence made the decision as the US government lawyers feared the rationale for Hesai’s inclusion on the list would not meet the legal criteria, the Financial Times reported on Monday, citing unidentified sources.
In 2021, the Congress passed legislation that requires the Pentagon to compile the so-called 1260H List, which is designed to restrict access to Chinese companies operating in the US to some defence contracts if they are allegedly aiding China’s military. Hesai was added to the list in January this year.
“Hesai has consistently maintained that our inclusion on the 1260H list was a mistake,” the Shanghai-based company said in a statement to the Post on Tuesday. “We are not a vendor to any military bodies in any country.”
Hesai had earlier filed a lawsuit in a US federal court in May for a summary judgment on the matter.
The Department of Defence did not reply to queries by the Post about the news report on Tuesday.
Hesai, which raised US$190 million via a Nasdaq listing in February 2023, said in April that it was seriously considering building plants outside mainland China, with Europe a top priority, to tap the accelerating transition in the global car sector.