The US Commerce Department has added 33 Chinese entities to its so-called ‘unverified list’, which requires US exporters to go through more procedures before shipping goods to the entities.
“The ability to verify the legitimacy and reliability of foreign parties receiving US exports through the timely completion of end-use checks is a core principle of our export control system,” Matthew Axelrod, the department’s assistant secretary for export enforcement, said in a statement.
He added that the addition of 33 parties in the People’s Republic of China to the Unverified List “will assist US exporters in conducting due diligence and assessing transaction risk, and signal to the PRC government the importance of their cooperation in scheduling end-use checks.”
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China’s commerce ministry said it “firmly opposed” the latest US move, calling the list a “tool of political suppression and economic bullying”.
Wuxi Biologics suspended trading in Hong Kong following a record slump in its share price, after Washington added the Chinese pharmaceutical giant to a list that could restrict its US operations.
Wuxi Biologics, which produces vaccines and drugs on contract for pharmaceutical firms, said the move would have “no impact” on its business and that it was “in compliance with all US export control regulations”.
But its shares plunged as much as 32 percent in Hong Kong on Tuesday before suspending trading down 23 percent at HK$62.25.
The company has expanded aggressively in recent years with a 1.3 million-square-foot production facility set to open in the western Chinese city of Chengdu next year, according to its website.
It signed an agreement with GlaxoSmithKline and Vir Biotechnology to produce Covid-19 antibody treatment Sotrovimab in 2020, and took over a Bayer factory in Germany last year to produce Covid-19 vaccines.
The addition of Chinese tech giant Huawei to the so-called entity list, as well as subsequent moves against the telecom giant, have barred it from buying crucial components and decimated its once-thriving smartphone business.
(With inputs from agencies)
