Friday 09 July 2021 9:10 am

US to blacklist more Chinese companies over human rights abuses

The US government is set to increase the number of Chinese companies on its economic blacklist over alleged human rights abuses and surveillance.

The Biden administration could add more than 10 Chinese companies to the list over accusations of forced labour and surveillance in Xinjiang, sources told Reuters.

The additions follow an announcement last month that the US would five other Chinese companies to the blacklist over allegations of forced labour.

Chinese authorities deny the allegations, saying its policies are designed to root out seperates and religious extremists who plotted attacks between between mostly Muslim ethnic Uyghurs and Han.

The names of the firms are not known. Companies from other countries could also be added to the blacklist on Friday.

The latest measures come amid worsening tensions between Washington and Beijing after President Biden intensifies his crackdown on Chinese companies that are in breach of human rights.

Last month, the Commerce Department said it was banning five Chinese entities “for accepting or utilizing forced labor in the implementation of the People’s Republic of China’s campaign of repression against Muslim minority groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.”

Beijng has moved to clampdown on Chinese technology companies listing in the US, promising to overhaul the overseas listing system for domestic enterprises and tighten restrictions on cross-border data flows.

Chinese ride-hailng app Didi was ordered to be taken off domestic app stores days after the business raised $4.4bn in the largest listing of a Chinese firm in the US since e-commerce giant Alibaba in 2014.