China is building a management mechanism to protect its key technologies and curb exports to the United States following Washington’s crackdown on Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, Hu Xijin, the chief editor of Global Times, tweeted on Saturday, without citing any sources.
Based on what I know, China is building a management mechanism to protect China's key technologies. This is a major step to improve its system, and also a move to counter US crackdown. Once taking effect, some technology exports to the US will be subject to the control.
— Hu Xijin 胡锡进 (@HuXijin_GT) 8 июня 2019 г.
Meanwhile, Xinhua news agency reported that the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) would organise a study to establish a “national technology management list system” in order to “more effectively forestall and defuse national security risks”.
These developments come shortly after reports that China’s Commerce Ministry spokesman, Gao Feng, said that Beijing would draw up a blacklist of “unreliable” foreign companies and individuals that would include those who fail to comply with market regulations and damage the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese firms.
In mid-May, US President Donald Trump issued an executive order blacklisting Huawei and its 70 affiliates, thereby banning American companies from selling components to the Shenzhen-based firm without a government license.
As a result, Google suspended operations with Huawei, including the transfer of all hardware, software, and technical services, except those publicly available via open source licensing, on 20 May.
Over the past few months, the Chinese telecom giant has faced allegations that it has been spying on behalf of Chinese authorities and stealing commercial information. The tech titan has vehemently denied the accusations, insisting that it is independent from the government.
Tensions between Huawei and Washington come against the backdrop of the ongoing trade war between China and the US, which dramatically escalated after the Trump administration threatened to introduce 25 percent tariffs on Chinese goods.
The two countries have been embroiled in a trade dispute since 2018 when Trump slapped 25 percent tariffs on up to $50 billion worth of Chinese goods in a bid to fix what he has repeatedly described as Beijing’s "unfair trade practices". From that point on, both sides have implemented several rounds of quid pro quo measures.
