WASHINGTON DC: On December 18, 2020, Secretary of the State, Micheal R.Pompeo released a press statement saying, “The Chinese Communist Party’smalign activity at home and abroad harms U.S. interests and undermines thesovereignty of our allies and partners. The United States will use allcountermeasures available, including actions to prevent People’s Republicof China (PRC) companies and institutions from exploiting U.S. goods andtechnologies for malign purposes. Today’s actions mark yet another sign ofour resolve.”
The statement clarified that the United States is imposing new restrictionson certain entities for activities that undermine our national security andforeign policy interests. Specifically, the Department of Commerce isadding 59 PRC entities to its export-control Entity List.
Mass Surveillance, Military Modernization, and Human Rights Abuses
The United States is adding four entities to the Entity List for enablinghuman rights abuses within China by providing DNA-testing materials orhigh-technology surveillance equipment to the PRC government. We urge theChinese Communist Party to respect the human rights of the people of China,including Tibetan Buddhists, Christians, Falun Gong members, UyghurMuslims, and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups.
Additionally, the Department of Commerce is adding nineteen entities to theEntity List for systematically coordinating and committing more than adozen instances of theft of trade secrets from U.S. corporations to advancethe PRC defense industrial complex; engaging in activities that undermineU.S. efforts to counter illicit trafficking in nuclear and otherradioactive materials; or using U.S. exports to support the PLA and PRCdefense industrial base, whose ultimate goal is to surpass the capabilitiesof other countries they view as competitors, particularly the United States.
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South China Sea
These new restrictions also impose costs on Beijing’s unlawful campaign ofcoercion in the South China Sea. The Department of Commerce is adding 25shipbuilding research institutes affiliated with the China StateShipbuilding Corporation to the Entity List, as well as six other entitiesthat provide research, development, and manufacturing support forthe People’s Liberation Army Navy or attempted to acquire U.S.-origin itemsin support of PLA programs. Commerce is also adding five PRC state-ownedenterprises, including the China Communications Construction Company, fortheir role in coercion of South China Sea claimant states.
