US Blacklists Chinese Drone Giant

Facts

• On Wednesday, the US Dept. of Defense (DOD) added the world's largest drone manufacturer, DJI technology - along with a dozen other Chinese hi-tech firms - to a blacklist of firms with alleged ties to the Chinese military, allowing for sanctions to be imposed against them.
• This comes after an initial list including Huawei Technologies was published last year in accordance with the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the annual must-pass bill that guides funding for the US military.
• The 13 companies added to the blacklist on Wednesday also include surveillance equipment maker Zhejiang Dahua Technology, rail transit equipment manufacturer and seller CRRC Corp., and BGI Genomics Co Ltd, which runs a massive gene databank.
• Companies blacklisted by the Pentagon are ineligible for partnership with the US military due to security concerns. The listings also aim to counter the modernization of the People's Liberation Army, which allegedly benefits from business with them.
• DJI was added to the US Commerce Dept. blacklist in December 2020, and a year later it was designated part of the "Chinese Military-Industrial Complex" by the Treasury Dept. for its alleged role in the surveillance of Uyghur muslims. In July 2021, the Pentagon determined that DJI systems "posed potential threats to national security," but the FBI and DHS admitted this year they were still purchasing and using DJI drones.
• The Chinese company had reportedly hired two lobbying firms this year to convince members of Congress not to support the American Security Drone Act, which forbids the government from buying drones from companies deemed as posing a risk to national security.

Sources: Al Jazeera, SCMP, Reuters, FOX News, Washington Examiner, and FT.

Narratives

• Anti-China narrative, as provided by Epoch Times. This is a much needed move to mitigate threats to US national security. Although they may focus on developing civil technologies, these firms are deeply entangled with the military-industrial complex, as the Chinese Communist Party actively promotes military-civil fusion in order to expand and modernize its forces.
• Pro-China narrative, as provided by Global Times. As the US continues its baseless crackdown on China's scientific and technological rise to maintain its sci-tech hegemony, Washington is only ensuring its own downfall. This move may provoke short-term damage, but its long-term impact will be limited considering the US's direct investment in China represents only 2% of all foreign investment.

Predictions