CHINA protested Wednesday after the U.S. added dozens of companies to its export control list, including more than 50 based in China that it says sought advanced knowhow in supercomputing, artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum technology for alleged “military purposes.”

Companies from China’s Taiwan, Iran, Pakistan, South Africa and United Arab Emirates also were included in the roughly 80 companies added to the “entity list” of the U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS).

Six are subsidiaries of the Inspur Group, China’s leading cloud computing and big data service provider. It was listed in the U.S. government’s entity list in 2023.

The update also includes the Beijing Academy of Artificial Intelligence (BAAI), a private non-profit scientific research institution. “We strongly oppose this wrong decision without any factual basis and ask the relevant U.S. departments to withdraw it,” the research institute said in a statement.

Among other companies and institutes included in the U.S. blacklist are Chinese server manufacturer Nettrix Information Industry Co, high-tech firm Suma Technology Co, and electronic products designer and manufacturer Suma-USI Electronics, according to the BIS.

China’s Foreign Ministry also lashed back, saying the entity list and other export controls were an abuse meant to unjustly suppress Chinese enterprises.

“It seriously violates international law and basic norms of international relations, severely damages the legitimate rights and interests of enterprises, and undermines the security and stability of global supply chains. China firmly opposes and strongly condemns this,” ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said at a routine news briefing Wednesday.

The companies on the list are subject to the “foreign direct product rule” of the BIS which allows it to control reexports and transfers of foreign-made products containing technology that the U.S. government deems vital for national security.

The tightening of controls comes as the Trump administration prepares for another round of tariff hikes due next week. Trump has already raised tariffs on imports of Chinese goods to 20%.

(SD-Agencies)