US BLACKLISTS XIAOMI, CNOOC, SKYRIZON, RAISING HEAT ON CHINA

The U.S. government has blacklisted Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi Corp. and China’s third-largest national oil company for alleged military links, heaping pressure on Beijing in President Donald Trump’s last week in office.

The Department of Defense added nine companies to its list of Chinese firms with military links, including Xiaomi and state-owned plane manufacturer Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China (Comac).

U.S. investors will have to divest their stakes in Chinese companies on the military list by November this year, according to an executive order signed by Trump last November.

Xiaomi said in a statement that its products are for “civilian and commercial use” and said it is not owned, controlled or affiliated with the Chinese military.

“The Company will take appropriate course of actions to protect the interests of the Company and its stakeholders,” the statement read, although Xiaomi did not elaborate on what those actions might be.

Xiaomi Corp. overtook Apple Inc. as the world’s No. 3 smartphone maker by sales in the third quarter of 2020, according to data by Gartner. Xiaomi’s market share has grown as Huawei’s sales have suffered after it was blacklisted by the U.S. and its smartphones were cut off from essential services from Google.