Xiaomi Sues US Government Over Trump’s Investment Ban
On Jan. 31, Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi announced to have sued the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Treasury Department in hopes to reverse the executive order that bars American capital in the company.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Treasury Secretary Jenet Yellen have been named as defendants.
Previously, on Jan. 14, former U.S. President Donald Trump added nine Chinese companies to the ban list, including two state-owned airplane manufacturers, Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) and China National Aviation Holding.
Leading Chinese mobile phone giant Xiaomi stands among the nine firms which the Trump Administration claimed to “have ties with the Chinese military.” The company previously told Pandaily in a statement that it “is not owned, controlled or affiliated with the Chinese military, and isn’t a ‘Communist Chinese Military Company’ defined under The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).”
In the statement regrading the lawsuit, which was filed in a court in the District of Columbia, the smartphone company pointed out that the decision to enlist Xiaomi as a Chinese military affiliated company has “procedural injustice and error in fact finding.”
SEE ALSO: Xiaomi Among Nine More Firms US Adds to Chinese Military Blacklist
Xiaomi also requested that the court declare the decision illegal and revoke the ban, in order to protect the interests of its users, partners, employees, and shareholders across the globe.
Also, the company stated that 75% of its shares are held by co-founders Lin Bin and Lei Jun, and neither of them nor its entities have any military background.
The executive ban was issued during Trump’s last days in the White House and it remains unclear how the new Biden Administration will deal with this ban. However, the blacklist, which includes Xiaomi as well as other Chinese firms such as chipmaker Semiconductor and drone manufacturer DJI Technology, will continue to scar the entities and the already intense Sino-U.S. relations.
