US places Xiaomi on list of banned companies

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India seizes $725m from China’s Xiaomi over illegal remittances
India seizes $725m from China’s Xiaomi over illegal remittances

The US Department of Defense has added more companies to its list of “Communist Chinese military companies” that can no longer receive investments from US citizens or organisations.

The latest list of nine companies includes Xiaomi. If the decision is not overturned, existing investors within the US would need to divest from the smartphone manufacturer.

Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC) was put on the tranche 4 version of the list, with Huawei, Inspur, China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom placed on earlier ones, among other companies. The US government names companies it says are national security risks, as they could have links to the Chinese government and Chinese military.

In a statement to Cnet, Xiaomi said it complies with all US laws and regulations, and that it’s not associated with the People’s Liberation Army.

“The company reiterates that it provides products and services for civilian and commercial use,” a Xiaomi spokesperson said. “The company confirms that it is not owned, controlled or affiliated with the Chinese military, and is not a ‘Communist Chinese Military Company'”.

Xiaomi told the Verge that it will review the potential consequences of the designation before taking action.