Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI:Beijing announced a swath of measures against the United States and its firms on August 6, in what it described as retaliation against recent moves by Washington targeting Chinese companies.
The tit-for-tat sanctions come weeks ahead of an expected summit between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and President Donald Trump in the US next month, as the world’s two largest economies struggle to maintain what they’ve called “constructive strategic stability” amid an intensifying tech rivalry, according to a CNN report.
China’s Ministry of Commerce announced it was sanctioning multiple American entities, including a biotech and a resource analytics firm, and tightening export controls on drones and their related components and technologies to the US.
Six of the companies were added to China’s so-called countermeasures list in retaliation for the US’s move last week banning imports from 43 Chinese companies over alleged human rights abuses of Uyghur and other minority groups, the ministry said. A seventh company’s listing was linked to the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC)’s ban last month on imports of new humanoid and quadruped robots, which are largely made in China, as well as power converters.
Entities and people within China are prevented from doing business or cooperating with the listed firms. Beijing’s latest measures included launching a national security investigation into imported office equipment with foreign system software, and suspending certain factory tracking inspection collaboration with the US.
‘Necessary measures’ A ministry spokesperson said Beijing had “no choice but to take necessary countermeasures” in response to recent American measures targeting Chinese firms. China was also among dozens of countries Washington last month hit with a 10 per cent or 12.5 per cent tariff over alleged failure to curb exports made by forced labor. The Trump administration officials have recently threatened to sanction Chinese AI firms.
Six entities on the list
The six entities that face the latest Chinese sanctions are Applied DNA Sciences, Inc., Stratum Reservoir, LLC, Altana Technologies, Inc., the Responsible Business Alliance, Verite Group, Inc., and Human Rights in China, according to a China’s Ministry of Commerce announcement.
Organizations and individuals within China are prohibited from engaging in relevant transactions, cooperation and other activities with them, according to the decision. The six US entities assisted and supported the illegal US sanctions related to Xinjiang, and their actions were egregious in nature, the ministry said.
The decision was approved by the national coordination mechanism for countering foreign sanctions.
