US suppression of Chinese firms slammed

As the United States added seven new China-related entities to its export control list, scholars have said that this suppression of Chinese companies is unpopular and benefits no one.

According to a US Commerce Department notice published online on Tuesday, the US has added seven China-related entities, mostly related to aerospace, to its export control list, citing national security and foreign policy concerns.

The department said the entities were added for "acquiring and attempting to acquire US-origin items in support of China's military modernization efforts".

As a result of this latest move, there are around 600 Chinese entities on the list, with 110 having been added during the Biden administration.

China has on many occasions expressed strong opposition to the US using national power and abusing export control measures to target firms from certain countries, saying that such moves seriously damage free trade and jeopardize the security of global industrial and supply chains.

Zhang Tengjun, deputy director of the Department for Asia-Pacific Studies at the China Institute of International Studies, said the US overstretches the concept of national security in order to preserve its hegemony and economic interests.

"The US' logic is completely untenable, as Washington has never showed any concrete evidence to prove that related companies have posed threats to the nation," Zhang said.

He added that such acts do further harm to the already strained ties between China and the US.

"Despite the Biden administration's claim that it does not seek conflict with China or prevent it from playing its role as a major power, the US in reality views China as a major strategic competitor, and deploys its domestic and external resources to unscrupulously contain and suppress China," Zhang said.

According to a document released by China in June, the US Congress has so far put forward more than 300 negative China-related bills.

Li Wei, a professor in the School of International Studies at Renmin University of China, said these measures will affect the normal operation of enterprises of China and the US.

"It will increase the cost of export of US companies as suppliers of US materials or services to these entities would need a license before shipping any goods," Li said.

Wang Yiwei, director of the Institute of International Affairs at Renmin University of China, said the US politicizes science and technology and turns them into ideological issues, which undermines globalization and free trade. He cautioned that cooperation between China and the US in space will be probably affected.