US slaps trade curbs on 5 Chinese firms over alleged role in Uyghur repression

The Biden administration on Tuesday imposed new trade restrictions on five Chinese companies for allegedly aiding in Beijing's repression of the Uyghur Muslim minority group.

According to Hikvision's 2021 half-year report, at least four of the companies facing new curbs belong to the Chinese surveillance camera maker including Luopu Haishi Dingxin Electronic Technology Co, Moyu Haishi Electronic Technology Co, Pishan Haishi Yong'an Electronic Technology Co and Urumqi Haishi Xin'an Electronic Technology Co.

Yutian Haishi Meitian Electronic Technology Co Ltd was also added.

Hikvision did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The companies "have been implicated in human rights violations and abuses in the implementation of China's campaign of repression, mass arbitrary detention and high-technology surveillance against the Uyghur people and members of other Muslim minority groups," in Xinjiang, the Commerce Department said in a posting in the Federal Register.

Being added to the entity list means U.S. suppliers must get a special and difficult-to-obtain license before shipping goods to the targeted companies. Washington has increasingly used the entity list to target Chinese firms.

Hikvision was placed on the U.S. trade blacklist in 2019 for being implicated in human rights violations and abuses in the implementation of China's campaign of repression, mass arbitrary detention, and high-technology surveillance against Uighurs and other Muslim minority groups in Xinjiang.