The US Department of Commerce blacklisted 28 Chinese organizations for involvement in violations of the rights of Uyghurs and other members of the Muslim minority in the PRC.
The Ministry of Commerce’s statement said that these organizations “were involved in human rights violations and abuses during the campaign of reprisals, massive illegal detentions and electronic surveillance of Uyghurs, Kazakhs and other groups of Muslim minorities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region”.
The sanctions, in particular, included the largest manufacturers of video surveillance systems and facial recognition, including Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co., Megvii Technology Inc. and SenseTime Group Ltd.
Blacklisting a company means that American companies are prohibited from selling services and products to it without a special license.
Expanding the sanctions list, analysts say, could hamper negotiations between the US and China, which should resume in Washington this week.
In turn, the American authorities deny the connection of sanctions with the negotiations.