Tensions deepen between the U.S. and China as the Biden administration blacklists more than 30 Chinese companies.
Key Details
- More than 30 Chinese companies have been added to the U.S. Entity list, blocking them from buying technology from U.S. suppliers without a special license.
- The Biden administration plans to add China’s leading smartphone memory chip maker Yangtze Memory Technologies, to the list, as well as many others.
- The list is a move by the U.S. to stop giving China materials that could boost its military power and threaten the country.
- This decision has “politicized and weaponized economic cooperation,” and China will take necessary steps to protect its companies’ rights, says Chinese Foreign Ministry speaker Wang Wenbin.
Why it’s news
The Biden administration has plans to blacklist more than 30 Chinese companies from buying American technology equipment. The list will prevent the companies from buying U.S. supplies without a special license.
China is arguing that this decision is a step by the U.S. government to stop China from rising any further in the world of technology and that the country has “politicized and weaponized economic cooperation.”
The U.S. formed the blacklist to stop China from using America’s products to enhance its military, thus becoming a national security threat to the U.S.
China has filed a dispute against the U.S. with the World Trade Organization, stating that America is attempting to disrupt global trade.
And opponents of the blacklisting at home agree that it hinders free and open global trade and adds friction to U.S.-China relations.
Backing up a Bit
In October, the Biden administration made an extensive list restricting more than 30 Chinese companies due to fears that the companies were a threat to national security. The companies were banned from buying certain materials because the U.S. could not verify that the companies weren’t working with the Chinese military.
The U.S. gave the companies a time limit to prove the companies weren’t tied to the military, and China seemed to be cooperating to keep the companies trading with the U.S., but the U.S. moved forward with the plans to block the companies.