Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Defense, under which the Pentagon will remove Xiaomi from its blacklist, according to a joint statement. “Defendants (the U.S. Defense Department) have agreed that a final order vacating the January 14, 2021 designation of Xiaomi Corporation as a CCMC pursuant to section 1237 of the FY 1999 NDAA, as amended, would be appropriate,” read the statement. The agreement came after a U.S. federal judge in March temporarily halted enforcement of the blacklisting imposed under the Trump administration, after Xiaomi filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government, calling the blacklisting “unconstitutional.” Commenting on the agreement, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Hua Chunying called on the U.S. to rectify the “mistake” made by the previous administration regarding Chinese businesses. “China supports Chinese enterprises in safeguarding their legitimate rights and interests through legal channels. We hope the U.S. will correct the last administration's mistake to provide a just, fair and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese companies,” she said.
Chen Fengying, Research Fellow at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, told the Global Times that the agreement doesn't mean that the U.S. is loosening its restrictions against Chinese companies. “The Biden administration is likely to selectively let U.S.-listed Chinese companies go to protect the interests of the U.S. capital market. “Biden's style, which is more pragmatic and realistic, is different from Trump's, and the move shows that Biden is reviewing the extreme measures taken by Trump to better protect the interests of the U.S. stock market, as Chinese companies account for a large share in the U.S. market,” Chen added. On January 14, just days before former U.S. President Donald Trump left office, the U.S. Defense Department put Xiaomi on its blacklist, citing unsubstantiated claims that the company has ties with the Chinese military. Seven other Chinese companies were also put on the blacklist, prohibiting U.S. companies to invest in them. Xiaomi sued the U.S. government on January 29 over the blacklisting, saying that the Pentagon's move is “unconstitutional because it deprives Xiaomi of its liberty and property rights without due process of law.” Xiaomi said it offers products only for civilian and commercial use, the Global Times reports.
