- US government adds Tencent to list of Chinese military entities
- Tencent and CATL describe their incorporation as a “mistake”
- The addition comes just a stone’s throw from Trump’s inauguration.
The US government has designated Tencent, owner of the popular messaging app WeChat, as a Chinese military company.
The Section 1260H list consists of Chinese companies operating in the US that could have ties to the Chinese military, to warn US companies not to do business with these entities.
Both Tencent and CATL, a battery manufacturing company, were added to the list by the Department of Defense along with several other Chinese organizations.
Tencent says addition is a “mistake”
Talking to him bbc In response to Tencent being added to the entity list, the company stated: “We are not a company or a military supplier. “Unlike sanctions or export controls, this listing has no impact on our business.”
The company also said its addition to the list was “clearly a mistake.” CATL also called its inclusion on the list a mistake.
The Section 1260H list is updated annually and includes Huawei Technologies Company, along with numerous Chinese semiconductor manufacturers.
The list does not prohibit US companies from trading with publicly traded companies, but it does add pressure for the companies to be sanctioned by the US Treasury Department.
Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington, issued a statement about the updated list, saying: “The United States’ practices violate the principles of market competition and the international economic and trade rules it has always upheld, and undermine trust. of foreign companies. in investing and operating in the United States.”
The United States and its allies have been attempting to purge Chinese technology from domestic consumer markets and infrastructure, and the United States has banned numerous Chinese technology makers, including Huawei, from selling their products in the United States amid national security fears. .
The UK has taken similar steps, including banning new Huawei technologies in 5G infrastructure, with existing technology required to be removed from the network by 2027.
The addition of these companies to the entity list comes at a time of intense tensions between the United States and China, with an ongoing trade war and the return of President-elect Donald Trump to the White House this month after a campaign full of anti-China rhetoric.
