On Thursday, the United States placed the Chinese tech company Xiaomi on a “blacklist” of foreign companies subject to severe restrictions, including a ban on receiving American investments. The reason why Xiaomi and eight other Chinese companies have been blacklisted is that according to the US Department of Defense they would have connections with the Chinese army, with which they would collaborate by providing them with advanced technologies and advice.
After this decision, which came less than a week after the inauguration of Joe Biden's new administration, the value of Xiaomi's shares on the Hong Kong stock exchange fell by 10 percent. Donald Trump's administration had already blacklisted 35 Chinese companies by the Pentagon; among these is Huawei, another major technology company. The attitude of the Trump presidency towards China has greatly changed the relationship of the United States with this country, and these latest decisions of his administration complicate even more the situation that Biden will find himself managing.
Xiaomi, in a statement sent on Friday, made it known “that it is not owned, controlled or affiliated with the Chinese army and that it is not a” Chinese Communist Military Company “” and that it will take “appropriate actions” to protect itself.
Another blacklist run by the Commerce Department, also on Thursday, included CNOOC, China's largest offshore oil company, which was already on the Defense Department's blacklist. So now CNOOC can no longer buy products from US companies without the consent of the US government. In this case, the reason is that CNOOC would have intimidated oil companies from other countries which in turn work in the South China Sea.
