Biden Administration Adds 37 Chinese Entities to Trade Restriction List, Including Military Equipment Suppliers and Spy Balloon Alleged Supporters
The Biden administration added 37 Chinese entities to a trade restriction list on Thursday, including some suspected of supporting a spy balloon that flew over the US last year and units of China Electronics Technology Group (CETC) for attempting to obtain American technology to advance China's quantum technology capabilities, which have potential military applications.
CETC, a state-owned military equipment supplier, could not be reached for comment.
This action increases tensions between Beijing and Washington.
The Chinese embassy in Washington criticized the Biden administration for adding six Chinese entities to the entity list, accusing it of economic coercion and bullying.
The entities were punished for supporting China's military modernization, including the People's Liberation Army's aerospace programs.
The move came in response to a spy balloon incident in February 2023 that caused political outrage in the US and led to the cancellation of Secretary of State Antony Blinken's trip to China.
The Chinese government claimed that a weather balloon found in US airspace was the cause of recent tensions, but the US sees it as a surveillance balloon.
The US added several Chinese entities to its trade restriction list, known as the entity list, for attempting to obtain American items for making drones for the Chinese military and for shipping controlled items to Russia.
The entity list restricts US suppliers from shipping to the targeted entities, aiming to limit the flow of technology to China for military purposes.