On May 14th, according to the reference news website citing Bloomberg News, LiDAR manufacturer Hesai Technology Co., Ltd. sued the US Department of Defense for including the company in the list of companies accused of assisting the Chinese military.
According to a lawsuit filed by Hesai to the Federal Court of Washington on the 13th, being listed on the so-called 1260H list has caused damage to its reputation, a significant drop in stock prices, and the loss of some business opportunities. Hesai Technology, listed on NASDAQ, is urging the court to rule that the US Department of Defense will remove it from the list or declare the list unconstitutional. Hesai Technology insists on designing and manufacturing only commercial and civilian products. The US Department of Defense did not immediately respond to requests for comment from reporters.
Hesai Technology confirmed this news to Interface News.
On January 31, 2024 Eastern Time, the US Department of Defense updated the list of "Chinese Military Companies" with the aim of emphasizing and countering China's military civilian integration strategy, in accordance with Section 1260H of the 2021 Defense Authorization Act. The latest additions to the list include multiple Chinese companies such as Hesai Technology, Changjiang Storage, Zhongwei Company, Kuangshi Technology, and Yitu Technology.
Although the list does not have specific sanctions, according to US media interpretation, the relevant bill will prohibit the US Department of Defense from signing contracts with any designated companies in the coming years, while posing significant reputational risks to Chinese companies and potentially putting pressure on the US Treasury to regulate these companies.
Several Chinese companies that have been added to the list have expressed protests against this behavior. Among them, Changjiang Storage stated to Observer Network, "As a private company, Changjiang Storage is not owned or controlled by the Chinese military, and refutes any allegations that we pose a threat to US national security. Our technology is not at the military level and is not suitable for military applications. We have not provided or been instructed by any entity to provide our technology for military purposes."
The company claims to be collaborating with the US government to address the issue of Yangtze River Storage being included in the "1260H List", which was imposed without prior notice to Yangtze River Storage.
Semiconductor equipment company Zhongwei also stated in a statement that the company is not related to the military, has no military investment, and has not provided products and services to any military end users. All products and services are used for civilian or commercial purposes.
On February 7th, Hesai Technology issued a statement deciding to sue the US Department of Defense to defend the company's legitimate rights and interests.
Prior to this lawsuit, in January 2021, former US President Trump also added nine Chinese companies, including Xiaomi and COMAC, to the US Department of Defense's "military blacklist" on the grounds of "endangering national security.". Afterwards, Xiaomi filed a lawsuit against the US Department of Defense and Treasury.
In March 2021, the District Court for the District of Columbia in the United States sided with Xiaomi in the lawsuit and temporarily suspended the relevant injunction. In May 2021, Bloomberg stated that according to a document submitted to a US court, the US Department of Defense has now agreed and ultimately ordered the revocation of this designation as "appropriate.".
In response to the actions of the US Department of Defense, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin stated at a regular press conference on February 1 that we firmly oppose the US's generalization of national security concepts, the establishment of discriminatory lists under various categories, unreasonable suppression of Chinese enterprises, and disruption of normal economic and trade cooperation between China and the United States.
On May 10th, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce stated that for a long time, the US has generalized the concept of national security, abused export control measures, suppressed and restrained foreign enterprises, seriously damaged the legitimate rights and interests of enterprises, disrupted global industrial and supply chain security and stability, and hindered the recovery and development of the world economy. China urges the US to immediately stop its erroneous practices and will take necessary measures to resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises.