According to a document seen by Reuters on Wednesday, the Trump administration has determined that top Chinese companies, including telecom equipment giant Huawei Technologies and video surveillance company Hickvision, have laid the groundwork for a new U.S. financial embargo, owned or controlled by the Chinese military.
A U.S. defense official confirmed the document on condition of anonymity and said it had been sent to Congress. Washington blacklisted Huawei last year for national security concerns and led an international campaign to persuade allies to exclude them from the 5G network.
The list of 20 companies that Washington alleges supports Chinese military forces and operates in the United States was first reported by Reuters. These include China Mobile Communications Group and China Telecommunications, as well as aircraft manufacturer Aviation Industry Corp of China.
The titles were created by the Department of Defense, which was obliged by a 1999 law to compile a list of Chinese military agencies operating in the United States, including those “owned or controlled” by the People’s Liberation Army that provide, produce, manufacture or Export.
Pentagon titles do not trigger fines, but the law says the president can impose sanctions that include blocking all assets of listed parties.
Huawei, Hickvision, China Mobile, China Telecom, AVIC and the Chinese embassies in Washington did not respond to requests for comment.
Amid growing tensions between Washington and Beijing over technology, trade and foreign policy, the Pentagon is under pressure from lawmakers from both US political parties to release the list.
Last September, Chuck Schumer, a top Democrat in the U.S. Senate, Tom Cotton, a Republican, and Mike Gallagher, a Republican, wrote a letter to Secretary of Defense Mark Asper expressing concern about Beijing’s listing of Chinese corporations for using emerging civilian technology for military purposes.
“Will you be committed to updating this list and publishing it publicly as soon as possible?” They asked in the letter.
On Wednesday, he praised the DOD for releasing a list of cotton and galaxies and urged the president to impose economic fines against the companies.
The White House did not comment on whether it would approve the listed companies, but said it “saw the US government as a useful tool for managing the diligence of companies, investors, academic institutions and like-minded partners.” With these entities, especially as the list grows. “
The list is likely to add to tensions between the world’s two largest economies, which are at odds with the coronavirus epidemic and China’s move to impose protection laws in Hong Kong, amid multiple points of friction that have worsened this year.
Last week, China threatened retaliation after President Donald Trump signed into law calling for sanctions on China’s crackdown on Uighurs.
Republican Senator Marco Rubio, who sponsors the Uyghurs, said the list was “a start, but insufficient to warn the American people about state-owned and directed companies that support the activities of the Chinese government and the Communist Party.” Bill, said in a statement.
US Relations Spotlight
The list will focus on US companies’ relations with Chinese companies, as well as their activities in the United States.
In 2012, US-based General Electric formed a 50/50 Avionics joint venture with AVIC, known as the Aviage system, to supply equipment for China’s C919 passenger jet.
The Defense Department’s list includes China Railway Construction Corporation, China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC), as well as CRRC, the world’s largest passenger train manufacturer, which has underbidded competitors in Boston, Philadelphia and Chicago. .
Companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Many of the listed companies are already in the crosshairs of US regulators. Both Huawei and Hikvision were blacklisted by the Commerce Department last year, forcing their U.S. suppliers to ask for licenses before selling them.
In April, the U.S. Department of Justice and other federal agencies called on the Federal Communications Commission to revoke the approval of China Telecom (America) Corporation to provide international telecommunications services to and from the United States. The telecom regulator last year rejected a similar request from China Mobile that had been pending for years.
ম Thomson Reuters 2020
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