WASHINGTON – The Joe Biden administration plans to remove some Chinese entities from a red alert trade list, a US spokesman told Reuters on Wednesday, amid closer cooperation with Beijing.
The plan to remove them soon from the so-called “unverified” list stems from the Chinese government’s increased willingness to allow US visits to facilities, the source said.
The Commerce Department declined to comment.
Reuters could not determine the number or names of the entities designated for removal.
The decision shows some degree of renewed cooperation between Washington and Beijing, the world’s largest economies, which have long been locked in a heated trade and technology war.
The decision, which means US exporters will no longer have to carry out additional due diligence before shipping goods to Chinese entities, may not be a prelude to a broader thaw between the two parties.
The Biden administration is also expected to put Chinese memory chip maker YMTC on a stricter export control list later this week, according to another source familiar with the matter.
YMTC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The companies are added to the unverified list because the United States cannot conduct on-site visits to determine if they can be trusted to receive exports of confidential US technology. Such US inspections in China require the approval of the Chinese Ministry of Commerce.
Under new rules announced in October, if a government prevents U.S. officials from conducting on-site inspections of companies on the unverified list, Washington can, after 60 days, add them to the list of entities, carrying much heavier penalties. hard.