The US Department of Defense added more Chinese companies, including drone maker DJI Technology Co (大疆創新) and surveillance equipment maker Zhejiang Dahua Technology Co (浙江大華科技), to a blacklist that subjects them to an investment ban for Americans.
BGI Genomics Co Ltd (華大基因), which has DNA-sequencing contracts with health firms and universities worldwide, and runs a massive gene databank, as well as CRRC Corp (中國中車), which engages in the manufacture and sale of rail transit equipment, are also among the 13 companies added to the list released by the Pentagon on Wednesday.
Last year, a Reuters review of scientific papers and company statements found that BGI developed its prenatal tests in collaboration with the Chinese military and was using them to collect genetic data for sweeping research on the traits of populations.
Photo: REUTERS
“The Department is determined to highlight and counter the People’s Republic of China’s [PRC] Military-Civil Fusion strategy, which supports the modernization goals of the [Chinese] People’s Liberation Army by ensuring its access to advanced technologies and expertise are acquired and developed by PRC companies, universities and research programs that appear to be civilian entities,” the Pentagon said in a statement.
The list bars buying or selling publicly traded securities in target companies.
An initial tranche of about 50 Chinese firms that included telecoms equipment maker Huawei Technologies Co (華為) was added to the US list in June last year.
At the time, US President Joe Biden signed an executive order that banned US entities from investing in the dozens of Chinese firms with alleged ties to defense or surveillance technology sectors.
The order aimed to prevent US investment from supporting the Chinese military-industrial complex, as well as military, intelligence and security research and development programs.
It was part of Biden’s broader series of steps to counter China, including reinforcing US alliances and pursuing large domestic investments to bolster US economic competitiveness, amid increasingly sour relations between the world’s two biggest economies.
Separately, sources have said that the Biden administration is planning to exclude SK Hynix Inc and Samsung Electronics Co from new restrictions on DRAM and flash memorychip makers in China.
The US Department of Commerce, which is scheduled to release new curbs on exports to China this week, will likely deny requests by US DRAM or flash memorychip equipment suppliers to send their products to Chinese firms including Yangtze Memory Technologies Co (YMTC, 長江存儲) and ChangXin Memory Technologies Inc (CXMT, 長鑫存儲), they said.
However, license requests to sell equipment to non-Chinese firms making advanced memory chips in the country would be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, they said.
“The goal is not to hurt non-indigenous companies,” one of the people briefed on the matter said.
The White House and the commerce department declined to comment.
SK Hynix, Samsung, YMTC and CXMT did not respond to requests for comment.
The Chinese embassy in the US on Thursday described the expected rules as “sci-tech hegemony.”
It said the US is using its “technological prowess ... to hobble and suppress the development of emerging markets and developing countries.”
‘NO SECURITY RISK’: The Railway Bureau reassured the public that the technicians’ activities were limited to technical guidance and did not involve sensitive systems The Railway Bureau yesterday said it had invited eight Chinese technicians to assist with an airport MRT construction project. The bureau issued the confirmation after an Internet user said Chinese nationals had entered the construction zone of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 3 project. They asked why “individuals from an enemy state” were allowed access to such a major national infrastructure project, which raised serious concerns over Taiwan’s industrial safety, sensitive systems and information security. The bureau’s Northern Region Engineering Branch Office said subcontractor Taiwan Handle Industrial Co (台灣手把工業) of the Taoyuan airport MRT’s “Contract No. CU05 Project A14 Station Civil, MEP &
A US uncrewed surface vessel (USV) encountered multiple Chinese warships during an autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait, US defense company Seasats said in a statement on Wednesday. Seasats announced that a Lightfish USV had completed the first autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait. Over five days, the USV traversed the entire length of the Strait while constantly monitoring surface vessel traffic, the company said. The Lightfish encountered multiple Chinese warships, one of which was a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Type 056 corvette, it said. The Chinese vessels were operating “well within Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone without transmitting their identity via the
GREATER REACH? Auto parts and wood products would face tariffs of up to 15%, matching those targeting the EU, Japan and South Korea, Vice Premier said The US has announced that preferential tariff treatment for Taiwan’s non-semiconductor Section 232 goods would take effect retroactively from May 1, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The US government yesterday posted a notice on the Federal Register’s public inspection Web site previewing tariff concessions for Taiwan under a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Taiwan-US investment after two months of negotiations. The MOU signed on Jan. 15 stipulated three major preferential tariff arrangements: a 15 percent “reciprocal” tariff rate for Taiwan without stacking most-favored nation (MFN) rates; preferential Section 232 treatment for semiconductors and related products; and preferential Section 232 treatment for non-semiconductor
The National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology yesterday showcased its locally developed variants of the Vision 60 robotic patrol dog, which it plans to deploy on the nation’s outlying territories in the South China Sea. The variants were produced under the Joint Lab project — created by the institute and domestic companies — and assembled with domestically produced motors, lenses and artificial intelligence (AI) systems alongside licensed tech from the US, Missile and Rocket Systems Research Division deputy director Jen Kuo-kang (任國光) told the media event at a military base in Taipei’s Dazhi (大直) area. Taiwan has built up its strengths
RSS