The US has been looking into Chinese tech companies with a fine-tooth comb, and how they play a role in its home ground and markets is has influence over.
This meticulous scrutiny, which was amplified during the Trump administration, saw the US ban Huawei products including its phones and telecoms services.
Not to stop there, the US has as of today banned third-largest smartphone maker Xiaomi.
The development is sudden, and continues to shock the world because at the moment, there is no clear information about what transpired prior to the ban.
All that can be gathered at the moment is that the US claims that Xiaomi is one of the technology forces being used by the Chinese government. It is the same sort of claim that was presented for the Huawei case, which stated that the Asian country’s government was using big tech to spy on Americans and other people across the world.
The Xiaomi ban has also been effected alongside other nine Chinese companies that the US says have associations with the China military.
What does the ban mean?
Well, it should be noted that the current Xiaomi ban is not the same thing that happened to Huawei; the latter was included in the Entity List.
Now, the blacklisting means that American investors cannot invest in Xiaomi, as well as the rest of the companies mentioned in the latest onslaught.
Americans are also barred from buying shares and securities in Xiaomi. Those with shares in the company will need to divest them before November 11, 2021.
As said, since the ban is not the same as featuring in the US Entity List, Xiaomi can still use American technologies such as chips without a license as has been the case with Huawei and drone-maker DJI.
Will the ban be overturned now that the Trump administration is exiting the scene? We don’t know. But it should be noted that Xiaomi is one of the biggest players in the smartphone space (it also makes a ton of other tech products), and will likely attempt to streamline things as soon as the Biden team is officially in office. We also expect Huawei to do the same thing, although we have reservations about seeing any developments soon.
