The company’s cameras and surveillance software are used around the world, for example to fight crime or for “smart city” applications.
(Photo: imago images / VCG)
Beijing The US government apparently has plans to impose its toughest sanctions on a large Chinese company. According to this, the US Treasury Department could put Hikvision, the world’s largest manufacturer of surveillance devices and facial recognition software, as the first Chinese technology group on the list of “Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons”. This was reported by several media with reference to government sources. This would criminalize any cooperation with the company.
The extent of the sanctions would thus surpass the most prominent case to date of the Chinese IT supplier Huawei. At the behest of the US administration, this has been denied access to US technologies, especially high-tech semiconductors, since 2019. As a result, Huawei was forced to part with a large part of the smartphone division, which had been the strongest in terms of sales and profits to date. According to its own statements, the company is still struggling to survive due to the consequences of US sanctions.
In the Hikvision case, a final decision has not yet been made, reports the Bloomberg news agency. However, the US government has begun informing allies of its intentions, as any sanctions will affect more than 180 countries where the company’s cameras are deployed, the Financial Times writes. Shares in the Chinese group fell by more than ten percent on Wednesday.
Washington has accused the Hangzhou-based company of supplying Chinese leaders with surveillance cameras that facilitate the oppression of the Uyghur Muslim minority in the northwestern Xinjiang region, thereby contributing to human rights abuses.
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The US accuses China of “genocide” in Xinjiang. China has always denied oppressing the Uyghur Muslim minority. US security officials also fear that China could use Hikvision’s cameras for spying activities around the world.
Hikvision has been banned from acquiring US technology since 2020
The company’s cameras and surveillance software are used by government agencies and companies around the world, for example to fight crime or for “smart city” applications. Because the devices are powerful and yet inexpensive, the manufacturer’s sales have recently also grown internationally. The company is considered a pioneer in the field of facial recognition through artificial intelligence.
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In a statement by Hikvision on the first report by the “Financial Times”, the company pointed out that a decision on possible sanctions had not yet been made. One hopes for a “fair and impartial” treatment. Sanctions should be “based on credible evidence and due process”.
Hikvision has been on the US Department of Commerce’s Entity List since 2020. This means that suppliers cannot sell US technology to the company. Last year, the Biden administration also included the company on the list of companies in the “Chinese military-industrial complex”.
Since then, US investors are no longer allowed to invest in the company. Adding to the list of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons would be another blow to the company because its customers risk violating US sanctions.
With agency material
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