US restricts six Chinese companies tied to airships and balloons

The US Commerce Department is limiting six Chinese firms tied to the Chinese military’s aerospace applications from acquiring US expertise with out authorities authorisation.

The transfer comes after a Chinese balloon suspected of finishing up surveillance flew over the US final week, elevating political tensions between the world’s two largest economies.

In this photo provided by Chad Fish, a large balloon drifts above the Atlantic Ocean, just off the coast of South Carolina. — In this picture supplied by Chad Fish, a big balloon drifts above the Atlantic Ocean, simply off the coast of South Carolina. (AP)

The six firms help the Chinese authorities’s “modernization efforts, specifically those related to aerospace programs, including airships and balloons and related materials and components, that are used by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) for intelligence and reconnaissance,” the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security stated in a press release.

The six firms are: Beijing Nanjiang Aerospace Technology; China Electronics Technology Group Corporation forty eighth Research Institute; Dongguan Lingkong Remote Sensing Technology; Eagles Men Aviation Science and Technology Group; Guangzhou Tian-Hai-Xiang Aviation Technology; and Shanxi Eagles Men Aviation Science and Technology Group.

The inclusion of the businesses on the Commerce Department’s “Entity List,” sends “a clear message to companies, governments, and other stakeholders globally that the entities on the list present a threat to national security,” the assertion stated.

“The Commerce Department will not hesitate to continue to use the Entity List and our other regulatory and enforcement tools to protect US national security and sovereignty,” Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves stated within the assertion.

“The Entity List is a powerful tool for identifying and cutting off actors that seek to use their access to global markets to do harm and threaten American national security.”

China’s “use of high-altitude balloons violates our sovereignty and threatens US national security,” Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security Alan Estevez stated.