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BEIJING, March 5 (AP) – BGI Group, one of the world’s largest genetic analysis companies, said Sunday it would never relinquish its plans after the U.S. government said some of its units were at risk of participating in Chinese surveillance. be involved in human rights violations.
Last week, three of BGI’s Chinese companies were added to the “Entity List,” which restricts access to U.S. technology on security or human rights grounds.
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The Commerce Department cited risks that BGI technology could help monitor. Activists say Beijing is trying to create a database of genetic information on Muslims and other Chinese minorities.
The Chinese government on Friday accused Washington of improperly attacking Chinese companies.
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BGI, based in the southern city of Shenzhen, said its services are for civilian and scientific purposes only.
The U.S. decision “may have been influenced by misinformation, which we are willing and able to clarify,” BGI Group said in an emailed response to questions. It made no mention of Uyghurs or other Muslim minorities, but has previously denied it provided technology to spy on them.
“BGI will not condone and will never participate in any human rights violations,” the company said.
The “Entity List” determined that BGI Research, Forensic Genomics International, and BGI Technology Solutions (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd. need to obtain government licenses to obtain sensitive US technologies.
Other Chinese companies have been named for their role in the ruling Communist Party’s military modernization or weapons development in Iran and Pakistan, as well as alleged human rights violations in Myanmar.
Washington has accused China of trying to use civilian companies to acquire processor chips, aerospace and other technologies that could be used for military or security purposes.
Beijing, in retaliation for earlier U.S. restrictions, created its own list of “unreliable entities” of foreign companies that could endanger China’s national sovereignty, security or development interests.
Lockheed Martin and Raytheon Technologies’ Raytheon Missiles and Defense unit were placed on the restricted list last month after supplying weapons to Taiwan, which Beijing claims as part of its territory.
They are prohibited from importing goods into China or making new investments in China. (Associated Press)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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