Washington has blacklisted 28 Chinese groups for allegedly violating US sanctions by sending technology for nuclear and missile programs to third countries or purchasing banned items for China’s military.
sales department put the groups on its “organization list,” which effectively prohibits American companies from supplying them with American-made technology.
Some of the companies have been blacklisted for allegedly supporting Russia’s military operations in Ukraine and for providing technology to an Iranian organization previously subject to US sanctions.
Among the most prominent Chinese targets are BGI Research and BGI Tech Solutions, part of the BGI Group, the country’s largest genomics research company. The US is getting more and more concerned China could use groups like the BGI to get the genetic data of Americans.
The move is the Biden administration’s latest attempt to punish Chinese groups that allegedly violated export control regulations by providing or attempting to provide technology to help the People’s Liberation Army in its rapid military modernization.
The blacklisting is also in response to a number of other actions, including providing Pakistan with nuclear and missile technology and supplying surveillance technology to Myanmar and other Chinese factions that enable repression and human rights violations.
“When we oppose the proliferators, counteract military aggression in the event of the military modernization of Russia and the People’s Republic of China, and protect and promote human rights, we put . . . [US] values into action and strengthening our common security,” said Don Graves, Deputy Secretary of Commerce.
The targeted companies included Loongson Technology, a chipmaker set up in the state-backed Chinese Academy of Sciences. Loongson’s core technology is considered Intel and Arm’s Chinese answer to chip development.
The Department of Commerce also targeted Suzhou Centec Communications, a chip design company, for acquiring or seeking US technology for the PLA, as well as helping other groups already listed by the organization.
Centec has developed chips for 5G networking equipment that was previously dominated by Huawei in China, as well as for data centers to support Chinese supercomputers.
The US has also blacklisted 4Paradigm Technology, an artificial intelligence group, and Inspur Group, an artificial intelligence, cloud computing and big data specialist, for supporting the modernization of the PLA.
The addition of Chinese entities to the list, which has been used to target large groups such as Huawei, comes as relations between Washington and Beijing hit a new low after the incident. suspected Chinese spy balloon flying over the USA.
Over the past two weeks, senior US officials warned that China is considering sending ammunition to Russia to support its war in Ukraine.
On Thursday, the US also blacklisted DMT Trading in Belarus and Neotec Semiconductor in Taiwan for helping Russia bolster its defense industry.
Six companies, including Galaxy Electronics and Arttronix International, were also added to the list for supplying or attempting to provide technology without the required license to Pasna, an Iranian group that is on a separate Treasury Department sanctioned list.
The Treasury Department claims that Pasna has previously tried to obtain metals used in anti-submarine warfare and ocean surveillance.
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