US government removes Xiaomi from blacklisted Chinese military companies

The US government permanently removes Xiaomi from the blacklist of ‘communist Chinese military companies’. A judge had previously ruled that Xiaomi should be temporarily collected from there, but now that decision is final.

The US Department of Defense and Xiaomi have jointly released a statement concluding that a definitive order to remove Xiaomi from the list of Chinese military companies would be appropriate. The two parties will negotiate this out of court and will come up with a proposal for the settlement before 20 May, writes The Verge.

Xiaomi was blacklisted by the Department of Defense by the Trump administration in January this year. The Chinese manufacturer was classified as a company with close ties to the Chinese military. Xiaomi denied that and successfully challenged the decision.

In March, a federal court ruled that Xiaomi should be temporarily removed from the list. The court was skeptical about whether sufficient national security interests would be at stake. It was still awaiting a final decision, but because the Ministry of Defense and Xiaomi themselves have reached an agreement, it is no longer necessary.

The list of Chinese military companies is slightly different from the Entity List that includes Huawei and DJI, for example. This is a blacklist from the US Department of Commerce that ensures that US companies are only allowed to cooperate with companies on that list with specific permission.

The military listing had no direct consequences for Xiaomi, but would mean that US companies had to withdraw and phase out their investments. Xiaomi was the only consumer product manufacturer on the list. It also includes industrial companies from, for example, the aviation sector, the chemical sector and the chip industry.