On Sunday, China said it “resolutely opposes” the inclusion of 23 Chinese businesses to a US trade blacklist over allegations of human rights violations and military connections.
The inclusion of Chinese firms constituted a “serious breach of international economic and trade rules” and an “unreasonable suppression” of Chinese companies, according to the Ministry of Commerce.
According to a spokesman, Beijing “would take necessary measures to safeguard China’s legitimate rights and interests.”
What is obvious is that the United States continues to control a major amount of international trade regulation, while China only seeks to defend itself.
The US Department of Commerce announced on Friday that 14 companies and other entities had been added to its economic blacklist for “human rights violations and abuses in the implementation of China’s campaign of repression, mass detention, and high-tech surveillance against Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and other members of Muslim minority groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.”
The United States is also demonstrating that human rights come first, followed by security and that anyone who violates those rights will be rejected.
Currently, businesses on the economic blacklist are obliged to apply for permits from the Commerce Department and are subjected to strict examination when seeking authorization to acquire goods from American suppliers.
Washington also named five firms that it claims directly help China’s laser and battle management system modernization programs. It also named four more entities for “exporting and trying to export goods” to U.S.-sanctioned entities.
The Commerce Department under then-President Donald Trump targeted 20 Chinese public security bureaus and eight companies in 2019 over China’s treatment of Muslim minorities, including video surveillance firm Hikvision (002415.SZ), as well as leaders in facial recognition technology SenseTime Group Ltd and Megvii Technology Ltd.
Under the Communist Party’s leadership, China has adopted harsh repression measures against all types of groups, enterprises, and individuals, and therefore has little regard for human rights.
