Chinese tech champions denounce US blacklisting as foreign ministry says ‘stay tuned’ for retaliation
The ban on China’s rising national tech champions comes as vice-premier Liu He gets ready to lead a new round of trade talks with the US
China’s tech champions roundly denounced Washington’s move to add them to the US Commerce Department’s Entity List, which prevents them from buying US-made technology on national security grounds just as the world’s two-biggest economies are about to resume crucial trade talks.
The US Commerce Department said on Monday it was putting 28 Chinese public security bureaus and companies on a US trade blacklist over Beijing’s treatment of Uygur Muslims and other predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities.
Hikvision said in a statement that it “strongly opposes” the US government’s decision, adding that it “will hamper efforts by global companies to improve human rights around the world.”
“[We have] been engaging with Administration officials over the past 12 months to clarify misunderstandings about the company and address their concerns,” said a Hikvision spokesman on Tuesday.
Hikvision has sold products to more than 150 countries and territories globally, but derives less than 5 per cent of its revenue from the US, according to a research note from Jefferies. The US government banned the procurement of Hikvision and Dahua products by federal agencies last year, citing national security risks.