Earlier this month, the U.S. government put Xiaomi on a military blacklist created by the Department of Defense to ban American investments in the company and force existing shareholders to sell their stakes in Xiaomi by November this year. Xiaomi promptly released a statement clarifying that it is not affiliated with the Chinese military, adding that it will take “reasonable steps to protect the interests” of shareholders and the company as a whole. Well, that course of action is finally here as Xiaomi has filed a lawsuit against the US government challenging its military blacklisting.
According to Xiaomi, the blacklist will cause imminent, serious and irreparable damage
“Xiaomi Corp. sued the U.S. Department of Defense and Treasury, challenging a blacklist preventing American investors from buying the Chinese smartphone giant’s securities. The lawsuit came after the Department of Defense found China’s largest smartphone maker to be part of the People’s Liberation Army earlier this month, ”a Bloomberg report said. Xiaomi is pursuing a court ruling to end the blacklist and has declared the move unconstitutional.
pic.twitter.com/56F87lWx8f
– Xiaomi (@Xiaomi) January 15, 2021
The Chinese electronics giant says it will suffer immediate, severe and irreparable damage if the restrictions imposed by the blacklist come into effect. However, Xiaomi is among many other Chinese brands that were recently added to the list. Some of the best-known names are HUAWEI, drone maker DJI, and semiconductor giant SMIC, all of which also made it onto the Entity List.
Xiaomi claims that it is not controlled or affiliated with the Chinese government or the Chinese military
In its filing, Xiaomi emphasized that it is not controlled by or affiliated with the Chinese government or the Chinese military. The company also mentioned in its original statement that it provides products and services for civil and commercial use. Many experts had determined that the order may be reversed under the new US President Joe Biden and that the blacklist has no merit.
“The Ministry is determined to highlight and combat the People’s Republic of China (PRC) military-civil fusion development strategy, which supports the modernization goals of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) by ensuring access to advanced technology and expertise acquired and developed by Even companies, universities and research programs in the PRC that appear to be civilian units, ”the US Department of Defense said at the time of adding new names – including Xiaomi – to the military blacklist.
Nadeem Sarwar
I’ve been writing about consumer technology for over three years, having worked with names like NDTV and Beebom in the past. Aside from the latest news, I’ve checked out my fair share of devices that range from smartphones and laptops to smart home devices. I’ve also interviewed tech managers and appeared as a moderator on YouTube videos talking about the latest and greatest gadgets.
