U.S. Blacklists Four Chinese Companies for Supporting Chinese Military AI Chip Development

The U.S. government has added four Chinese companies to its blacklist (entity list·export control list) for allegedly supporting the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s acquisition of artificial intelligence (AI) chips.

According to Reuters, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced at a Senate subcommittee hearing on export control enforcement on the 10th (local time) that these companies are “involved in providing AI chips for China’s military modernization program.” The four companies are Beijing LINKZOL Technology, Xi’an Like Innovative Information Technology Co., Beijing Anwise Technology Co., and Tianjin Sitonholy Co.

The blacklist released by the U.S. Department of Commerce on the same day added a total of 11 companies, including these. Five companies that helped produce and procure drones used by Russia in Ukraine or by the Iran-backed Houthis in attacks on ships in the Red Sea were also listed.

This includes two companies from China and two from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Russia has recently been escalating drone and missile attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities and other infrastructures, causing severe damage. The Houthis are also disrupting global shipping by attacking Western oil tankers and ships passing through the Red Sea. The U.S. government is adding these companies to the export control blacklist under the judgment that they pose a threat to national security and foreign policy.

In response, the Chinese government has protested that the U.S. is politicizing science and technology issues and unfairly suppressing “normal economic and trade cooperation” between China and Russia.

Mao Ning, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said at a regular briefing on the 11th, “We firmly oppose the U.S. abusing export control tools such as the blacklist to suppress and oppress Chinese companies, and urge the U.S. to stop politicizing tooling, and weaponizing economic, trade, science, and technology issues.” She emphasized, “we will take necessary measures to protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies.”

Hu Yadong, a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, also criticized at a briefing on the same day, “For a while, the U.S. has been including Chinese companies in the export control blacklist because they are related to Russia or military issues.” She said, “(U.S. action) is a unilateral sanction and long-arm jurisdiction against Chinese companies, a typical economic coercion and unilateral bullying.”