U.S. considers imposing sanctions on China’s Hikvision -FT

Surveillance cameras are seen near the headquarters of Chinese video surveillance firm Hikvision in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China May 22, 2019. REUTERS/Stringer

May 4 (Reuters) – The United States is moving towards imposing sanctions on Chinese video surveillance company Hikvision (002415.SZ), the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing four people familiar with the talks.

The Biden administration is considering placing human rights-related sanctions on the Chinese company, according to the report.

The sanctions, if enforced, could have dire consequences for the maker of surveillance equipment, which was earlier added to a list of companies threatening U.S. national security.

Washington has already begun briefing allies, given Hikvision has customers in more than 180 countries, two of the sources told FT.

In an emailed reply to Reuters, Hikvision said the company has been and will continue to comply with the applicable laws and regulations in the countries where it operates.

“The mentioned potential action by the U.S. Government remains to be verified. We think any such sanction should be based on credible evidence and due process, and look forward to being treated fairly and unbiasedly,” the company said.

The Federal Communications Commission in March 2021 had designated five Chinese companies, including Hikvision, as posing a threat to national security under a 2019 law aimed at protecting U.S. communications networks. read more

China’s Huawei Technologies Co [RIC:RIC:HWT.UL], ZTE Corp (000063.SZ), Hytera Communications Corp (002583.SZ), and Zhejiang Dahua Technology Co (002236.SZ) were the others in the list.

The White House did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for a comment.

Reporting by Sneha Bhowmik and Tanvi Mehta in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Chen Aizhu in Singapore; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips

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