President Donald Trump is planning several new hard-line moves against China in the remaining weeks of his term. Weeks before Democratic President-elect Joe Biden is set to take office on January 20, the United States is set to blacklist dozens of more Chinese companies including the Chinese chipmaker company Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC). In total, the US is expected to add around 80 additional companies and affiliates to the list of blacklisted companies, nearly all of them Chinese, reports Reuters.
“The designations by the Commerce Department are expected to name some Chinese companies that Washington says have ties to the Chinese military, including some helping it construct and militarise artificial islands in the South China Sea, as well as some involved in alleged human rights violations,” the sources familiar with the matter was quoted by Reuters as saying.
The Trump administration’s entity list which includes more than 275 China-based firms and affiliates, comprises the names of Chinese companies like the telecoms equipment giants Huawei Technologies Co and 150 affiliates, and ZTE Corp over sanction violations, as well as surveillance camera maker Hikvision over suppression of China’s Uighur minority. And after today, the country’s top chipmaker company SMIC will be a new entrant in the list of these blacklisted Chinese companies.
Trump imposes fresh restrictions on Chinese diplomats, calls other nations to join ban on Chinese apps
In September, the US had called for a ban on Chinese apps and had urged other nations to join in. This move came a day after the Indian government banned 118 Chinese mobile apps including PUBG. US Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Keith Krach had called on other nations to join its “clean network”.
The “Clean Network” program is a comprehensive approach of the Trump administration to guarding US citizens’ privacy and protecting most sensitive information from aggressive intrusions by malign actors, such as the Chinese Communist Party.
Moreover, the Trump administration, carrying on a tough line against Beijing had in September also imposed fresh restrictions on the Chinese diplomats. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had then said that the US diplomats faced constant barriers to their work in China and hence the Trump administration was responding by imposing new guidelines on senior PRC diplomats in the US.
