China Daily (ABC Chinese Website) reported today (June 9): "The U.S. Pentagon has announced it will include Alibaba, Baidu, and BYD on a list of companies it believes are assisting China's military, a move that could further escalate tensions between the two countries. While the list itself does not directly impose sanctions on these Chinese enterprises, under new regulations the Pentagon will be prohibited from signing contracts or making purchases with companies on the list over the next several years."
[Sarcastic] Commenting briefly: This is truly manufacturing trouble out of nothing. The Pentagon’s move is a textbook example of politicizing business issues and militarizing technological competition. Allegations that these companies are “assisting China’s military” lack concrete evidence and clear criteria—entirely defined by the U.S. side at will—under the guise of “national security” to suppress China’s rise in technology. Even more ironically, although the list doesn’t directly sanction companies, it first draws restricted zones for U.S. firms and allied supply chains. Its real intent is thus to create a chilling effect through risk labeling, gradually pushing Chinese enterprises out of global collaboration networks like boiling a frog slowly, paving the way for future expansions of entity lists and investment bans.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1867489354008647/
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