In October 2019, the US government widened its trade blacklist to include eight Chinese technology and artificial intelligence companies due to concerns on China’s treatment of Muslim minorities.

The US Commerce Department said these “entities have been implicated in human rights violations and abuses in the implementation of China’s campaign of repression, mass arbitrary detention, and high-technology surveillance against Uighurs, Kazakhs, and other members of Muslim minority groups.” Wilbur Ross, Secretary of Commerce, said that “The U.S. Government and Department of Commerce cannot and will not tolerate the brutal suppression of ethnic minorities within China”.

The blacklisted companies are Hikvision, SenseTime Group Ltd, Megvii Technology Ltd, iFlytek Co, Zhejiang Dahua Technology, Xiamen Meiya Pico Information Co, Yitu Technology and Yixin Science and Technology Co. Comments from some of these companies are included in the article below.

The US government’s decision has also prompted at least two of the pension plans, the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) and The New York State Teachers Retirement System, to say they are reviewing or monitoring that development.