US adds dozens of Chinese entities to export blacklist including Inspur units

WASHINGTON - The US added six subsidiaries of Inspur Group, China’s leading cloud computing and big data service provider, and dozens of other Chinese entities to its export restriction list on March 25.

The Inspur units were listed for contributing to the development of supercomputers for the Chinese military, the commerce department said in a posting. Five of the subsidiaries are based in China and one in Taiwan. Inspur Group itself was placed on the list in 2023.

The Inspur units are among about 80 companies and institutes added to the export control list on March 25. More than 50 are based in China. Others are in Taiwan, Iran, Pakistan, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates.

The listings are intended to restrict China’s ability to develop high-performance computing capabilities, quantum technologies and advanced AI, and impede China’s development of its hypersonic weapons programme.

“We will not allow adversaries to exploit American technology to bolster their own militaries and threaten American lives,” said commerce secretary Howard Lutnick.

China’s foreign ministry, in response to an enquiry on March 26, condemned the US move and said the country will take necessary measures to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises.

The Chinese embassy in Washington said on March 25 it “firmly opposes these acts taken by the US and demands that it immediately stop using military-related issues as pretexts to politicise, instrumentalise and weaponise trade and tech issues”.

The Inspur Group did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The US also seeks to disrupt Iran’s procurement of drones and related defence items, and prevent development of its ballistic missile programme and unsafeguarded nuclear activities.

The government adds companies to the commerce department’s entity list for national security or foreign policy concerns. Companies cannot sell goods to those listed