US imposes trade restrictions on two Chinese firms over human rights

WASHINGTON – The US added two Chinese companies to a trade restriction list on Dec 10 for allegedly enabling human rights violations as President Joe Biden kept up the pressure on Beijing in the waning days of his administration.

The Commerce Department, which oversees export policy, added Zhejiang Uniview Technologies to the entity list, “because it enables human rights violations, including high-technology surveillance targeted at the general population, Uighurs, and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups”, the agency said in a filing.

China’s Beijing Zhongdun Security Technology Group was added for selling products that “enable China’s public security establishment to carry out human rights violations”.

Uniview did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Beijing Zhongdun Security could not be reached for comment.

The US has in recent years used the entity list to punish Chinese companies it accuses of

aiding in China’s repression of Uighur

and other minority groups. These firms include Chinese video surveillance company Hikvision in 2019.

Being added to the entity list forces American suppliers of the targeted company to get a difficult-to-obtain licence before shipping to them. Six other entities in Russia and Myanmar were also added on Dec 10. REUTERS