US adds 33 Chinese companies to red flag list, unseals Hytera indictment
- Being added to the Commerce Department’s ‘unverified list’ means a firm faces tougher rules on doing business with American companies
- The Hytera indictment details a 13-year effort by the company and a group of former Motorola employees to steal technology
The Commerce Department’s new “unverified list” entries are primarily hi-tech manufacturers, including those that produce laser components and pharmaceuticals, government research labs and two universities. US companies seeking to export to entities on the list must obtain a licence to do so.
The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security said of the entities added that it “could not verify their bona fides because an end-use check on transactions subject to [export restrictions] in which these persons were parties could not be completed satisfactorily for reasons outside the US government’s control”.
Also on Monday, the Justice Department unsealed an indictment against Hytera Communications Corp – a Chinese supplier of professional mobile radio systems, also known as walkie-talkies, used by police – saying it conspired with former employees of Motorola Solutions to steal technology.
Threat to US from China ‘more damaging’ than ever before: FBI chief
Prosecutors accused Hytera and the recruited employees, whose names are redacted, of a seven-year effort starting in 2007 to steal Motorola’s trade secrets “to accelerate the development of Hytera’s [mobile technology] products, train Hytera employees and market and sell Hytera’s … products throughout the world”.
The indictment details the defection of a group of employees from Motorola units based in Penang, Malaysia.
In one email cited in the court document, an employee is quoted as saying: “It is going to cause a lot of problem[s] as we are technical people and bring along a lot of knowledge. We have/will signed the NDA [non-disclosure agreement] and some of our lies may cause problems once Motorola finds out.”
They are also the motivation behind bipartisan congressional efforts to counter Beijing on these fronts.