Trump to add China's SMIC and CNOOC to defense blacklist: Reuters, citing sources - CNBC

The Trump administration is poised to add China's top chipmaker SMIC and national offshore oil and gas producer CNOOC to a blacklist of alleged Chinese military companies, according to a document and sources, curbing their access to U.S.

Reuters reported earlier this month that the Department of Defense (DOD) was planning to designate four more Chinese companies as owned or controlled by the Chinese military, bringing the number of Chinese companies affected to 35.

The DOD, the Chinese embassy in Washington and CNOOC did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Commerce Department informed some firms that they need to obtain a license before supplying goods and services to SMIC after concluding there was an "unacceptable risk" that equipment supplied to it could be used for military purposes.

Reuters reported last week that the Trump administration is close to declaring that 89 Chinese aerospace and other companies have military ties, restricting them from buying a range of U.S.

The list of "Communist Chinese Military Companies" was mandated by a 1999 law requiring the Pentagon to compile a catalog of companies "owned or controlled" by the People's Liberation Army, but DOD only complied in 2020.