U.S. Blacklists More Chinese Tech Companies Over National Security Concerns

The Trump administration added five Chinese entities to a United States blacklist on Friday, further restricting China’s access to American technology and stoking already high tensions before a planned meeting between President Trump and President Xi Jinping of China in Japan next week.The Commerce Department announced that it would add four Chinese companies and one Chinese institute to an “entity list,” saying they posed risks to American national security or foreign policy interests. The move essentially bars them from buying American technology and components without a waiver from the United States government, which could all but cripple them because of their reliance on American chips and other technology to make advanced electronics.

The entities are one of China’s leading supercomputer makers, Sugon; three subsidiaries set up to design microchips, Higon, Chengdu Haiguang Integrated Circuit and Chengdu Haiguang Microelectronics Technology; and the Wuxi Jiangnan Institute of Computing Technology. They lead China’s development of high-performance computing, some of which is used in military applications like simulating nuclear explosions, the Commerce Department said.

Other Chinese companies that have been barred from access to American technology include the telecom equipment giant Huawei, which was added to the entity list in May. The Trump administration is also considering adding Hikvision, a surveillance-technology company, The New York Times has reported.

The restriction of additional companies could further complicate efforts to reach a trade deal. American and Chinese officials recently restarted talks after negotiations collapsed in May, with Mr. Trump accusing China of breaking a previous deal and the two countries intensifying their tariff fight.