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US-China tech war
China

US adds nine Chinese firms, including Xiaomi, to military blacklist

  • The Defence Department adds nine more firms on Thursday to its list of companies that it says have ties with the Chinese military
  • US Commerce Department adds Chinese oil giant CNOOC to a US economic blacklist, saying it had helped China intimidate neighbours in the South China Sea

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A Xiaomi smartphone on display in Barcelona, Spain. Photo: Bloomberg
Jodi Xu Kleinin United StatesandRobert Delaney
The Trump administration stepped up efforts in its final days to crack down on China with new additions to a military blacklist, new sanctions aimed at pushing back on Beijing’s claims in the South China Sea and the addition of another Chinese corporate behemoth to its exports blacklist.

The Defence Department added nine more firms on Thursday to its list of companies that it says have ties with the Chinese military, rounding out the total to 44.

The firms include smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi and the state-owned plane maker Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac), central to China’s goal of creating a narrow-body plane that can compete with Boeing and Airbus.
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The Trump administration is unlikely to add more companies to its blacklist, said Keith Krach, undersecretary for economic growth, energy and environment in a briefing with reporters.

An ARJ21 aircraft of One Two Three Airlines (OTT Airlines) heads for a designated area before performing its first flight at Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport in Shanghai, east China on December 28, 2020. The ARJ21 is manufactured by the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac). Photo: Xinhua
An ARJ21 aircraft of One Two Three Airlines (OTT Airlines) heads for a designated area before performing its first flight at Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport in Shanghai, east China on December 28, 2020. The ARJ21 is manufactured by the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac). Photo: Xinhua
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Krach pointed out that Chinese tech giants Alibaba, Tencent and Baidu are “highly strategic” to the Chinese military. On Wednesday, sources said the Trump administration scrapped plans to blacklist Alibaba, Tencent and Baidu.

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