The US Commerce Department put a dozen Chinese companies on its trade blacklist on Wednesday citing national security concerns and in some cases their help with the Chinese military's quantum computing efforts. The department also said 16 entities and individuals from China and Pakistan were added to the blacklist for contributing to Pakistan's nuclear activities or ballistic missile programme. In total, 27 new entities were added to the list from China, Japan, Pakistan, and Singapore. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said in a statement that the move will help prevent US technology from supporting the development of Chinese and Russian "military advancement and activities of non-proliferation concern like Pakistan's unsafeguarded nuclear activities or ballistic missile program". Suppliers to these companies will need to apply for a license before selling to them, which is likely to be denied.

Source: The Express Tribune November 24, 2021 23:30 UTC