US govt places more sanctions on DJI, finds them complicit in tracking ethnic minorities

DJI is perhaps the most well-known name in the drone scene right now, with a whopping 94% market share in the consumer drone segment. However, amidst the ongoing tensions between the United States and China, DJI has found itself caught in the middle of the US government’s crosshairs.

Having previously been placed on the US Department of Commerce’s Entity List back in December of 2020, a year later DJI is having a bit of a deja vu moment, as now the US Department of Treasury has also placed the Chinese drone company on the Non-SDN Chinese Military-Industrial Complex Companies (NS-CMIC) List. This means that Americans are not able to invest and/or trade public securities in DJI.

They weren’t the only ones either, as they were also placed on the NS-CMIC List with seven other Chinese firms. As for why they found themselves on the list, it’s because the US government has deemed that the technology developed by these eight companies had been used for surveillance and repression of the Uyghur minority in Xinjiang.

“Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) identified eight Chinese technology firms pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13959. These eight entities actively support the biometric surveillance and tracking of ethnic and religious minorities in China, particularly the predominantly Muslim Uyghur minority in Xinjiang.

As a result of today’s action, U.S. persons will be prohibited from purchasing or selling certain publicly traded securities connected with these entities, as described in E.O. 13959, as amended.” – US Department of Treasury

Specifically regarding DJI, the US Department of Treasury accuses DJI of having provided their drones to the Xinjiang Public Security Bureau, which were then used to surveil on the Uyghur community. The Xinjiang Public Security Bureau had earlier been deemed by the US government as being complicit in serious human rights abuses in the region. The other Chinese firms put on the list are Leon Technology, Cloudwalk Technology, Dawning Information Industry, Megvii Technology, Netposa Technologies, Xiamen Meiya Pico Information and Yitu Limited.

With that being said, the US Department of Treasury’s move to put them on the NS-CMIC List likely won’t hurt DJI too much, as they’re privately held. They do have some US-based investors though, like Sequoia Capital and Kleiner Perkins, though it is understood that Sequoia Capital China is legally a separate entity from its US sibling. Xiaomi had previously found themselves on a similar blacklist, forcing its American investors to sell off their stock, before taking the US government to court and eventually being taken off the blacklist.

If anything, it’s a signal of the US’ intention to continue putting pressure on China via economic sanctions against Chinese companies. The move to put DJI on the NS-CMIC List comes barely a week after another Chinese firm, SenseTime was also put on the list. SenseTime largely deals with artificial intelligence, but the US govt also claims that their technology was used in Xinjiang.

China understandably has not taken the listing of these eight companies well. The Chinese Foreign Ministry has criticised the US government, with their spokesperson Zhao Lijian stating:

“Stop abusing state power to unreasonably oppress specific sectors and enterprises of China. China will, as always, firmly defend the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies,” – Zhao Lijian

[ SOURCE 2 3 ]