US blacklists Chinese firms tied to spying and rights abuses

US President Joe Biden signed a presidential order yesterday blacklisting Chinese firms linked to mass surveillance, including of citizens in Hong Kong and millions of Uyghur Muslims.

The White House banned Americans from investing in 59 Chinese companies it said were linked to technology used to “facilitate repression or serious human-rights abuse”.

It substantially expands on an executive order issued by Donald Trump in November, which banned Americans from investing in companies tied to the Chinese military.

The move comes ahead of next week’s G7 summit in Cornwall, Biden’s first international trip as president, and where the issue of how to counter China is likely to dominate.

“We see this as one action in the sort of broader sweep of steps we are taking to strengthen our approach to competing with China and to countering its actions that are against our interests and our values,” a senior official said.

The move is likely to further strain relations between Beijing and Washington, and could result in a titfor-tat Chinese ban on US companies.

The new order applies to firms that engage surveillance technology inside and outside China.

Biden pledged to put human rights at the heart of his foreign policy and has criticised Beijing’s crackdown in Hong Kong and the use of internments for Uyghur minorities in Xinjiang. The order suggests he is willing to continue his predecessor’s hard-line stance on China.

The Trump-era order blacklisted 48 Chinese firms and was managed by the defence department.

Wang Wenbin, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, said the Trump order disregarded facts and severely disrupted normal market rules and order: “The US should respect the rule of law and the market, correct its mistakes, and stop actions that undermine the global financial order and investors’ lawful rights and interests.”

China is known to use technology, including facial-recognition software, to spy on its 1.4 billion citizens.

The US has also raised concerns about the surveillance capabilities of technology sold by Chinese companies such as Huawei, the telecoms giant.

The new order prevents Americans from investing in 59 companies, with a 60-day grace period, until August 2, before sanctions begin. It includes a one-year grace period for Americans already invested in them.