US adds more firms based in China, Pakistan & Russia to 'Entity List'; See details

In an extra-preventive measure to safeguard national security, the US moved to block 27 foreign entities and individuals from China, Pakistan and Russia. Washington has added the said entities to the Military End-User (MEU) list for engaging in activities that pose threat to the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States. Joe Biden’s administration, which is known to have reversed several policies of his predecessor Donald Trump, has appeared to carry forward the trend of banning entities that America finds to be linked to the activities of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

At least 16 blacklisted entities and individuals, according to US Commerce Department, were operating from China and Pakistan. The United States federal agency said that they were banned “based on their contributions to Pakistan’s unsafeguarded nuclear activities or ballistic missile program.” Furthermore, eight technology entities based in China were added to the list which US described its efforts “to prevent US emerging technologies from being used for PRC’s [People’s Republic of China] quantum computing efforts that support military applications.” One entity based in Russia was also banned.

The latest US move comes in the backdrop of Washington already banning dozens of Chinese entities that it said were found associated with activities of PLA, or contributing to the army’s development. In June this year, Biden massively expanded a prohibition on Americans investing in companies based in China with alleged military ties. At the time, the total number of Chinese enterprises barred from receiving any investment from the US was 59.

What is US' ‘Entity List’?

It is pertinent to note here that the ‘Entity List’, which has witnessed a surge in terms of addition of Chinese companies, is a tool used by the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) to restrict export, reexport, along with in-country transfer of items subject to the EAR to persons or entities which are believed to be either involved or have been involved or pose a major risk of being involved, in actions “contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States.”

Additionally, the MEU List, US agency said, “serves to inform the public of certain parties in China, Russia, Venezuela and Burma that the U.S. government has determined to be military end-users.” The latest actions were taken by the US under the authority of the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 and its implementing regulations, the Export Administration Regulations (EAR).

List of entities banned in the US in the latest measure

China and Pakistan

Apart from the already barred 59 entities, on 24 November, the US moved to expand the list by blacklisting 8 other China-based firms that include the following:

• Hangzhou Zhongke Microelectronics Co Ltd
• New H3C Semiconductor Technologies Co Ltd
• Xi'an Aerospace Huaxun Technology
• Hunan Goke Microelectronics
• Yunchip Microelectronics
• Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale
• QuantumCTek
• Shanghai QuantumCTeck Co Ltd

Additionally, the US also added 16 other entities based in China and Pakistan for their contribution to Islamabad’s “unsafeguarded” nuclear activities. These include:

• Shaanxi Zhi En Electromechanical Technology Co. (in China)
• Q&N Traders
• U.H.L. Company
• Jiuding Refrigeration & Air-conditioning Equipment co (Pvt) Ltd.
• K-SOFT Enterprises
• Seljuk Traders (SMC-Private) Limited
• Global Tech Engineers
• Asay Trade & Supplies
• Jade Machinery Pvt. Ltd. 
• Poly Asia Pacific Ltd. (PAPL)
• Paektek Company Ltd.
• Al-Qertas
• Broad Engineering
• Prime Tech along with two of its employees - Muhammad Ashraf and Muhammad Farrukh for the procurement of items subject to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) on behalf of an entity, also based in Pakistan which was added to the Entity List in September 2018 by the United States

Russia

US Commerce Department said that Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology to the MEU List for its production of military products for a military end-user.

Foreign entities that US barred previously

Prior to the 24 November move, US had blacklisted four entities are located in Israel, Russia, and Singapore including NSO Group and Candiru (Israel), Positive Technologies (Russia) and Computer Security Initiative Consultancy PTE. LTD. (Singapore). US said that the Israel-based companies were banned based on the “evidence that these entities developed and supplied spyware to foreign governments that used these tools to maliciously target government officials, journalists, businessmen, activists, academics, and embassy workers.”

Meanwhile, Russian and Singaporean entities each “were added to the Entity List based on a determination that they traffic in cyber tools used to gain unauthorized access to information systems, threatening the privacy and security of individuals and organizations worldwide.”

In July, US moved to add 34 entities for their involvement in actions that contradict America’s foreign policy. At the time, US Commerce Department had said that out of total 34, at least 14 were based in China and have “enabled Beijing’s campaign of repression, mass detention, and high-technology surveillance against Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and members of other Muslim minority groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Regions of China (XUAR), where the PRC continues to commit genocide and crimes against humanity.” The United States in June banned 59 Chinese firms which included the following:

• Aero Engine Corporation of China
• Aerospace CH UAV Co., Ltd
• Aerospace Communications Holdings Group Company Limited
• Aerosun Corporation
• Anhui Greatwall Military Industry Company Limited
• Aviation Industry Corporation of China, Ltd
• AVIC Aviation High-Technology Company Limited
• AVIC Heavy Machinery Company Limited
• AVIC Jonhon Optronic Technology Co., Ltd
• AVIC Shenyang Aircraft Company Limited
• AVIC Xi'An Aircraft Industry Group Company Ltd
• Changsha Jingjia Microelectronics Company Limited China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology
• China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation Limited
• China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation
• China Aerospace Times Electronics Co., Ltd
• China Avionics Systems Company Limited
• China Communications Construction Company Limited
• China Electronics Technology Group Corporation
• China General Nuclear Power Corporation
• China Marine Information Electronics Company Limited
• China Mobile Communications Group Co., Ltd.
• China National Nuclear Corporation
• China National Offshore Oil Corporation
• China North Industries Group Corporation Limited
• China Nuclear Engineering Corporation Limited
• China Railway Construction Corporation Limited
• China Satellite Communications Co., Ltd.
• China Shipbuilding Industry Company Limited
• China Shipbuilding Industry Group Power Company Limited
• China South Industries Group Corporation
• China Spacesat Co., Ltd.
• China State Shipbuilding Corporation Limited
• China Telecommunications Corporation
• China United Network Communications Group Co., Ltd.
• Costar Group Co., Ltd.
• CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering (Group) Company Limited
• Fujian Torch Electron Technology Co., Ltd.
• Guizhou Space Appliance Co., Ltd.
• Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co., Ltd.
• Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
• Inner Mongolia First Machinery Group Co., Ltd.
• Inspur Group Co., Ltd.
• Jiangxi Hongdu Aviation Industry Co., Ltd.
• Nanjing Panda Electronics Company Limited
• North Navigation Control Technology Co., Ltd.
• Panda Electronics Group Co., Ltd.
• Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation
• Shaanxi Zhongtian Rocket Technology Company Limited
• Zhonghang Electronic Measuring Instruments Company Limited
• Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co., Ltd.
• Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
• China Communications Construction Group (Limited)
• China Electronics Corporation
• China Mobile Limited
• China Telecom Corporation Limited
• China Unicom (Hong Kong) Limited
• CNOOC Limited
• Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.
• Panda Electronics Group Co., Ltd.

(IMAGE: AP)