US Blacklists 4 Companies For Trying To Acquire AI Chips For Chinese Military

On Wednesday, a U.S. official announced that four Chinese companies are being placed on an export blacklist for attempting to procure AI chips for China‘s military efforts. According to Kevin Kurland, an export enforcement official from the Commerce Department, these companies are engaged in supplying AI chips for China’s military advancement and intelligence programs. Kurland shared this information during a U.S. Senate subcommittee hearing focused on enhancing export control enforcement.

The companies are among 11 additions to the Commerce Department Entity List posted by the government on Wednesday. Suppliers need licences, likely to be denied, to ship goods and technology to companies on the list.

The Federal Register announcement mentioned that four Chinese organisations were listed for acquiring or trying to acquire items from the U.S. to help with China’s military advancement efforts, though it didn’t provide specific reasons for their inclusion.

The companies are LINKZOL (Beijing) Technology Co, Xi’an Like Innovative Information Technology Co, Beijing Anwise Technology Co and SITONHOLY (Tianjin) Co.

In the posting, the United States also restricted exports to five companies that it said were helping produce and procure drones for use by Russia in Ukraine and by Iran-backed Houthis in Red Sea shipping attacks.

Russia has intensified its drone and missile strikes against Ukrainian energy facilities in recent weeks, causing significant damage and threatening a repeat of the blackouts experienced in the first year after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

The Commerce Department added China’s Jiangxi Xintuo Enterprise Co to the list for supporting Russia’s military through the procurement, development, and proliferation of Russian drones, the posting said.

Another Chinese company, Shenzhen Jiasibo Technology Co, was added for being part of a network procuring aerospace components, including drone applications, for an aircraft company in Iran. Three Russian entities – Aerosila JSC SPE, Delta-Aero LLC, and JSC ODK-Star – were added for being part of that network.

“These components are used to develop and produce Shahed-series UAVs which have been used by Iran to attack oil tankers in the Middle East and by Russia in Ukraine,” the Federal Register notice said, referring to unmanned aerial vehicles.

Attacks on ships including oil tankers by Iranian-backed Houthis have disrupted global shipping through the Red Sea. Yemen’s Houthis say they are retaliating against Israel’s war against Palestinian Hamas militants in Gaza.

Companies are added to the U.S. Entity List when Washington deems them a threat to U.S. national security or foreign policy.

Two UAE citations, Khalaj Trading LLC and Mahdi Khalaj Amirhosseini, were added for apparently violating Iran sanctions by exporting or trying to export items from the United States to Iran through UAE, according to the posting.The companies could not be reached for comment.

Military engagement between the U.S. and China picked up again at the end of last year, yet ongoing tensions persist, primarily due to unresolved issues regarding Taiwan and the South China Sea, which are seen as critical areas of conflict. Xi Jinping, China’s leader, has invested heavily in purchasing and advancing military technology as a key part of his plan to develop a “world-class” military by 2050. This initiative has seen Beijing’s defence spending increase more rapidly than its economy for several years.

With Inputs from Reuters