US to blacklist dozens of Chinese firms including SMIC, report says

Washington, DC, United States of America

The United States is set to add dozens of Chinese companies, including the country's top chipmaker SMIC, to a trade blacklist on Friday.

The move is being seen as the latest in President Donald Trump's effort to cement his tough-on-China legacy. It comes just weeks before Democratic President-elect Joe Biden is set to take office on January 20.

In total, the United States is expected to add around 80 additional companies and affiliates to the so-called entity list, nearly all of them Chinese.

The designations by the Commerce Department are expected to name some Chinese companies that Washington says have ties to the Chinese military, including some helping it construct and militarise artificial islands in the South China Sea, as well as some involved in alleged human rights violations.

The Trump administration's entity list now includes more than 275 China-based firms and affiliates -- Huawei Technologies Co and 150 affiliates, and ZTE Corp over sanction violations, as well as surveillance camera maker Hikvision over suppression of China's Uighur minority.

SMIC, the Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp, has already been in Washington’s crosshairs.

In September, the Commerce Department mandated that suppliers of certain equipment to the company apply for export licenses after concluding there was an "unacceptable risk" that equipment supplied to it could be used for military purposes.

Last month, the Defence Department added the company to a blacklist of alleged Chinese military companies, effectively banning US investors from buying its shares starting late next year.

SMIC has repeatedly said that it has no relationship with the Chinese military.

(with inputs from Reuters)