SIMIC

THE US has added two units of prominent Chinese genetics company BGI and Chinese cloud computing firm Inspur to a trade blacklist, reports Reuters.
The move further ratchets up tensions with Beijing as the US Commerce Department added BGI Research and BGI Tech Solutions (Hong Kong), over allegations that the firms pose a "significant risk" to contributing to Chinese government surveillance used to repress ethnic minorities.
It accused Inspur of acquiring and attempting to acquire US goods to support China's military modernisation efforts. The companies and the Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Twenty-six other Chinese entities were also added to the list, which makes it hard for targeted companies to receive shipments of US goods from suppliers.