US blacklists military links with Chinese drone manufacturer DJI
A Shenzhen-based company is one of the 13 Chinese businesses that have been added on the list that permits sanctions.
More than a dozen Chinese businesses, including the biggest drone manufacturer in the world, have been placed by the US Defense Department (DoD) to a blacklist of corporations with claimed connections to the Chinese military, paving the way for trade restrictions.
One of the 13 companies put to the Pentagon's blacklist on Wednesday is Shenzhen-based DJI Technology, which is said to command more than half of the worldwide market for commercial drones.
The blacklist gives the US president the power to impose penalties on businesses that are thought to be associated with the Chinese military.
The statement follows the US Treasury Department's prohibition of trading in shares of DJI and seven other Chinese businesses by US residents last year due to the company' suspected involvement in the monitoring of the Uighur ethnic minority in Xinjiang, China's far western province.
The new list also included manufacturers of rolling stock, genetic testing companies BGI Genomics Co, CRRC Corp, and Zhejiang Dahua Technology, located in Hangzhou and producing surveillance equipment.
More than 60 Chinese companies are on the blacklist, including semiconductor producer SMIC and tech behemoth Huawei Technology.
The Pentagon stated: "The Department is determined to highlight and counter the People's Republic of China's Military-Civil Fusion strategy, which supports the People's Liberation Army's modernisation goals by ensuring that its access to cutting-edge technologies and expertise are acquired and developed by PRC companies, universities, and research programmes that appear to be civilian entities."
"DJI was already prohibited from receiving US investment when the US Treasury listed it to the list of Non-SDN Chinese Military-Industrial Complex Companies in December 2021. Therefore, the DoD listing demonstrates that the US government genuinely believes DJI is a supporter of the military of the People's Republic of China (PCR)," Rollet said Al Jazeera.
The PRC state-owned fund China Chengtong, which publicly promotes Military-Civil Fusion as a primary aim, has invested in DJI, it should be noted.
Al Jazeera has requested comment from DJI, Dahua, BGI, and CRRC.
As part of a broad strategy to confront Beijing in sectors ranging from trade and technology to defence, US President Joe Biden has attempted to isolate Chinese enterprises with apparent military links.
China has warned against using scientific and technology achievements to impede the growth of other nations, describing US penalties against Chinese companies as "classic political manipulation."
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