WASHINGTON — The Trump administration added 24 Chinese companies on Wednesday to a government list that bans them from purchasing American products, citing their role in helping the Chinese military construct artificial islands in the disputed South China Sea. The Trump administration has penalized dozens of Chinese companies in previous months by adding them to the so-called entity list over national security concerns related to advanced technology and alleged human rights violations against Muslim minorities in the Xinjiang region. But this is the first time that the administration has used the entity list in relation to China’s encroachment in the South China Sea, which stretches south of Hong Kong and borders the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and other countries. While companies can request a license to continue selling to firms on the entity list, such requests are often denied, the Commerce Department said. The State Department also announced that it would begin imposing visa restrictions on Chinese citizens “responsible for, or complicit in, either the large-scale reclamation, construction, or militarization of disputed outposts in the South China Sea.” Such individuals would be barred from the United States, and their family members may also face visa restrictions, the announcement said.

Source: International New York Times August 26, 2020 14:02 UTC