US blacklists eight Chinese tech companies on rights violations

(Oct 8): The Trump administration placed eight Chinese technology giants on a US blacklist on Monday, accusing them of being implicated in human rights violations against Muslim minorities in the country’s far-western region of Xinjiang.

The companies include two video surveillance companies -- Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co and Zhejiang Dahua Technology Co -- that by some accounts control as much as a third of the global market for video surveillance and have cameras all over the world. Also targeted were SenseTime Group -- the world’s most valuable artificial intelligence startup -- and fellow AI giant Megvii Technology, which is said to be aiming to raise up to US$1 billion ($1.38 billion) in a Hong Kong initial public offering. Backed by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding, the pair are at the forefront of China’s ambition to dominate AI in coming years.