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- The Trump administration has added nine Chinese companies to a blacklist, including smartphone maker Xiaomi.
- The US Defense Department labeled the firms “communist Chinese military companies.” Americans now cannot invest in them.
- Huawei, another smartphone giant, is already on the list.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Smartphone maker Xiaomi and eight other Chinese firms have been added to a Trump administration blacklist, just days before President-elect Joe Biden takes office.
The US Defense Department released a statement on Thursday confirming that nine Chinese companies have been labeled as “communist Chinese military companies,” meaning Americans cannot invest in them.
Xiaomi, one of the world’s biggest and fastest-growing phone manufacturers, was added alongside state-owned Chinese plane maker Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China and the airline Grand China Air.
They are now subject to Trump’s executive order issued November 12, which bans US investment and requires investors to sell their holdings in any blacklisted companies by November 11, 2021.
Xiaomi, which now sells more phones than Apple, didn’t immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment but told TechCrunch that “it is not owned, controlled or affiliated with the Chinese military, and is not a ‘Communist Chinese Military Company’ defined under the NDAA [National Defense Authorization Act].”
It added that "the company will take appropriate course of actions to protect the interests of the company and its shareholders."
The Defense Department said in a statement that it is "determined to highlight and counter" the relationship between China's military and firms that "appear to be civilian entities" but which support the military with advanced technology and expertise.
The Beijing-based company's stock fell 10.3% in Hong Kong trading on Friday, the Financial Times reported.
So far, the Defense Department has listed 44 companies that they consider to be owned or controlled by China's military. The firms include phonemaker Huawei, China's number one chipmaker Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), and oil giant China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC).