WASHINGTON: The US is adding 33 Chinese companies and institutions to an economic blacklist including technology companies, some of which have links to American outfits.
A new report claims that Amazon, Microsoft and Google are among a number of American companies providing various web services to some of the blacklisted Chinese companies.
Among the companies named is NetPosa, one of China’s most famous AI companies, whose facial recognition subsidiary is linked to the surveillance what China regards as subversives.
Softbank-backed CloudMinds was also added. It operates a cloud-based service to run robots such as a version of Pepper, a humanoid robot, pictured, capable of simple communication.
The company was blocked last year from transferring technology or technical information from its US unit to its offices in Beijing.
The US says the companies have been blacklisted for helping Beijing spy on China’s minority Uighur population or because of ties to weapons of mass destruction and China’s military.
