The Trump administration earlier this year
used the same blacklisting process to punish
Huawei, the Chinese telecom giant targeted by
the U.S. over national security concerns. Added
to the list in June were five Chinese groups
working in supercomputing.
Ross said this week action will ensure
U.S. technologies “are not used to repress
defenseless minority populations”.
China is estimated to have detained up to
1 million Muslims in prison-like detention
centers in the region. The detentions come on
top of harsh travel restrictions and a massive
surveillance network equipped with facial
recognition technology. China has denied
committing abuses in the centers and has
described them as schools aimed at providing
employable skills and combating extremism.