The United States Government has revealed how it’s preparing to add 33 Chinese firms and institutions to an economic blacklist, for alleged ties to China’s military, or persecution of Uighurs.
Seven companies and two institutions were listed for being “complicit in human rights violations and abuses committed in China’s campaign of repression, mass arbitrary detention, forced labour and high-technology surveillance against Uighurs” and others, the Commerce Department said in a statement.
Two dozen other companies, government institutions and commercial organisations were added for supporting procurement of items for use by the Chinese military, the department said in another statement.
The blacklisted companies focus on artificial intelligence and facial recognition, markets that US chip companies such as Nvidia Corp and Intel Corp have been heavily investing in. Among the companies named is NetPosa, one of China’s most famous AI companies, whose facial recognition subsidiary is linked to the surveillance of Muslims, but the conclusion is yet to be revealed.
