China pledged to take 'necessary measures' to respond to the U.S. blacklisting of Chinese companies over their alleged role in abuses of its Uyghur people and other Muslim ethnic minorities.
The Commerce Ministry said the U.S. move constituted an 'unreasonable suppression of Chinese enterprises and a serious breach of international economic and trade rules.'
China will 'take necessary measures to firmly safeguard Chinese companies' legitimate rights and interests,' the ministry's statement said.
No details were given, but China has denied allegations of arbitrary detention and forced labor in the far western region of Xinjiang and increasingly responded to sanctions against companies and officials with its own bans on visas and financial links.
Uyghur detainees in a camp in Lop County, Xinjiang, in April 2017. The United States added 14 Chinese companies to its economic blacklist over alleged human rights abuses of Uyghur Muslims and high-tech surveillance in Xinjiang
Workers walk around a camp for Uyghurs Muslims in the Xinjiang region of China. The Commerce Department is punishing companies for their involvement in human rights abuses against Uyghurs
The U.S. Commerce Department said in a statement Friday that the electronics and technology firms and other businesses helped enable 'Beijing's campaign of repression, mass detention and high-technology surveillance' against Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and other members of Muslim minority groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.'.
They include the China Academy of Electronics and Information Technology; Xinjiang Lianhai Chuangzhi Information Technology Co; Shenzhen Cobber Information Technology Co; Xinjiang Sailing Information Technology; Beijing Geling Shentong Information Technology; Shenzhen Hua'antai Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd.; and Chengdu Xiwu Security System Alliance Co., Ltd.
The penalties prohibit Americans from selling equipment or other goods to the firms.
The latest action shows President Joe Biden aims to press China over what the administration says are worsening human rights abuses against the Uyghur population in Xinjiang
The United States has stepped up financial and trade penalties over China's treatment of Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities, along with its crackdown on democracy in the semi-autonomous city of Hong Kong.
The Chinese government since 2017 has detained a million or more people in Xinjiang. Critics accuse China of operating forced labor camps and carrying out torture and coerced sterilization as it allegedly seeks to assimilate Muslim ethnic minority groups.
The U.S. Commerce Department said 14 companies were added to its Entity List over their dealings in Xinjiang, and another five for aiding China's armed forces.
'The Department of Commerce remains firmly committed to taking strong, decisive action to target entities that are enabling human rights abuses in Xinjiang or that use U.S. technology to fuel China's destabilizing military modernization efforts,' Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said in a statement posted on the department's website.
Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said the US would take a firm stance on the companies enabling human rights abuses in Xinjiang
The action follows the department's decision last month to add five other companies and other Chinese entities to the blacklist over allegations of forced labor in the far western region of China.
China dismisses accusations of genocide and forced labor in Xinjiang and says its policies are necessary to stamp out separatists and religious extremists who plotted attacks and stirred up tension between mostly Muslim ethnic Uyghurs and Han, China's largest ethnic group.
'The Chinese side will take all necessary measures to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies and rejects U.S. attempts to interfere in China's internal affairs,' said foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin on Friday.
The latest action shows President Joe Biden aims to press China over what the administration says are worsening human rights abuses against the Uyghur population in Xinjiang.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said Friday that China would take all necessary steps to defend its interests
Generally, entities added to the economic blacklist are required to apply for licenses from the Commerce Department and face tough scrutiny when they seek permission to receive items from U.S. suppliers.
This is not the first time the U.S. government has targeted Chinese firms linked to allegations of high-tech surveillance activity in Xinjiang.
In 2019, the Trump administration added some of China's top artificial intelligence startups to its economic blacklist over its treatment of Muslim minorities.
The Commerce Department under Trump targeted 20 Chinese public security bureaus and eight companies including video surveillance firm Hikvision, as well as leaders in facial recognition technology SenseTime Group Ltd and Megvii Technology Ltd.
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