The United States Commerce Department on Saturday said that it would add as many as 33 Chinese firms and institutions to an economic blacklist for aiding Beijing spy on China’s Muslim minority groups or for their alleged ties to China’s military.
The blacklisting came as Communist Party rulers in Beijing on Friday unveiled details of a plan to impose national security laws on Hong Kong.
The Trump Administration named nine entities for complicity in alleged human rights violations in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region in western China.
The list included seven companies that assist Beijing in high-technology surveillance in the region, the Commerce Department said in a statement.
Separately, the Department targeted 24 Chinese commercial and government entities based in China, Hong Kong, and the Cayman Islands that it said: “represent a significant risk of supporting the procurement of items for military end-use in China.”
“All 33 entities were added to an export blacklist of businesses and individuals that are considered to be national-security threats or engaged in activities contrary to the United States foreign policy. The American companies that continue to do business with them risk steep fines or jail time,” the Department added.
Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross said, “The additions to the blacklist demonstrate our commitment to preventing the use of U.S. commodities and technologies in activities that undermine our interests.”
Among the entities named for abetting Uighur surveillance were CloudWalk Technology and FiberHome Technologies Group. Those named for trying to procure military technology included Beijing Computational Science Research Center and Qihoo 360 Technology Co.
Friday’s announcement signals that the Trump administration is continuing to put pressure on the Chinese leadership despite reaching the first phase of a trade deal in January. The deal called for China to increase its purchase of US goods and services by USD200 billion over the next two years.