The United States on Tuesday placed dozens of entities on a trade blacklist for allegedly disrupting Beijing’s artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced computing capabilities, the Commerce Department said. The action affected 80 entities from countries including China, the United Arab Emirates and Iran, and the department said they were engaged in “activities contrary to US national security and foreign policy.”
Those added to the ‘sanctions list’ are prohibited from obtaining American goods and technology without government permission. “We will not allow adversaries to misuse American technology to strengthen their military and endanger American lives,” said US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
The sanctions target 11 entities in China and one in Taiwan, accused of being involved in the development of advanced AI, supercomputers and high-performance AI chips for users in China. These include the Beijing Academy of Artificial Intelligence and subsidiaries of giant technology firm Inspur Group.
Others have been convicted of ‘contribution to unsafeguarded nuclear activities’ or ballistic missile programs. Jeffrey Kessler, the Undersecretary of Commerce for Industry and Security, said the goal is to prevent American technology and goods from being misused for activities such as high-performance computing, hypersonic missiles, and military aircraft training.
The Commerce Department said two entities from Iran and China that seek to purchase American goods for Iran’s defense industry and drone program were also included in the list. Washington has condemned Beijing’s decision to blacklist its companies, accusing them of “weaponizing” trade and technology in “typical acts of hegemony.”
“We urge the US side not to generalize the concept of national security,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiaqun said at a regular press briefing, “and stop abusing all kinds of sanctions lists to unfairly suppress Chinese enterprises.” Guo said China would take necessary measures to protect the rights of its companies. Some of the blacklisted companies did not immediately respond to AFP’s request for comment on Wednesday.
