The U.S. government added 33 Chinese entities to its so-called Unverified List (UVL), putting further stress on the already fragile global industrial and supply chains. The U.S. says it is unable to verify ownership of companies on the list or their end users, implying that they might be owned by the Chinese government or Communist Party. The UVL differs from the better-known Entity List, which restricts access to U.S. exports unless the exporter obtains a license. The new names on the UVL are lesser-known industrial and technology businesses that Beijing is counting on to help China survive, or even win, the technology competition with the U.S. Even though it is not an outright ban, inclusion on the UVL means the process to acquire certain U.S. technologies would become lengthier and more complex as more documentation is required, according to the South China Morning Post.
Experts said the increased restrictions on overseas shipments by U.S. exporters will not only hurt the legitimate rights of foreign companies, but will eventually harm U.S. enterprises while impeding international cooperation in technology and trade. Extra procedures are required from U.S. exporters who want to do business with them. The new entries are primarily high-tech enterprises, such as two subsidiaries of biotech WuXi Biologics and some electronics companies.
A Spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said that it strongly opposes the U.S. move. “The U.S. side has been employing export controls as a tool of political suppression and economic bullying in recent years and continues to take unilateral measures to suppress and contain enterprises, institutions and individuals of other countries, creating obstacles to normal economic and trade cooperation between Chinese and U.S. enterprises,” the statement said. “Once again, the U.S. put its own interests above the commercial interests of domestic and foreign enterprises.” Zhou Mi, Senior Researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, said.
“If more work is needed to verify the legitimacy and reliability of those entities in relation to their use of U.S. exports, a better way is to solve the problem through cooperation rather than such a deed that damages the normal operations of enterprises, hurts trust and distorts trade,” Zhou said, as reported by the China Daily.
