Chinese leaders split over releasing blacklist of US companies, report says

Beijing has sped up development of a blacklist that could be used to punish US technology firms, with Cisco Systems Inc among the companies seen as likely to be included in the list.

Beijing on Saturday moved to create a blacklist of foreign companies seen as threatening its national security or acting against Chinese business interests.

According to a report published by the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, few Chinese leaders are looking to pull the trigger on the Huawei Technologies Co Ltd rival as soon as they can.

However, a few are in favour of delaying the list till after the US election in November, the report said.

China first introduced its plan to create a blacklist of US entities in May 2019, quickly after the US restricted telecom big Huawei Technologies Co’s entry.

But as the Trump administration has recently intensified its attacks on Bytedance, owner of TikTok and Tencent Holdings Inc., which runs the WeChat messaging and funds app, the listing has gained urgency.

In a separate statement on Saturday, China's Ministry of Commerce condemned the Trump administration’s actions against WeChat and TikTok, saying that such “bullying” had damaged the United States’ image as a destination for foreign investment.

According to a report published in the New York Times, China’s Ministry of Commerce published rules on Saturday that outlined a similar “unreliable entities list,” though it did not name any specific companies or individuals that would be included.

Tensions between US and China have intensified in recent months. The confrontation now encompasses the two countries’ policies on trade and technology, as well as on Taiwan, Hong Kong, human rights, coronavirus pandemic and other issues.