In This Article:
Chinese state-backed surveillance camera manufacturer Hikvision saw its stock price in Shenzhen tumble for the second straight day on Friday, following a report that the US is considering new sanctions against the company over alleged involvement in human rights abuses in Xinjiang.
Investors rushed to dump shares of the Hangzhou-based company, after the Financial Times reported that the firm may be added to the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list.
Hikvision has been on a US trade blacklist since October 2019, which requires US companies to obtain a licence before selling to the Chinese firm. But landing on the SDN list would deal a harsher blow to Hikvision by barring it from dealing with American companies or citizens at all, effectively killing its US business.
Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.
Washington has neither confirmed nor denied the FT report.
Hikvision shares fell by 9 per cent on Friday, after dropping by the daily limit of 10 per cent on Thursday.
The company said in an earlier statement, written in English, that it "looks forward to being treated fairly and unbiasedly". In a Chinese statement cited by local media, the company was quoted as saying it does not believe there are sufficient irregularities in its business to merit further punishment by the US government.
"Sanctions don't solve problems, they create new ones," Hikvision said in a statement cited by the Securities Times. "If the Chinese [government] implements a sanction system similar to the SDN list, few international companies would be able to handle it."
"Hikvision still believes that economic globalisation is the best option for humankind."
The statement echoes Beijing's long-running stance against Western sanctions.
"China firmly opposes the US using human rights and other excuses to abuse power and domestic laws to irrationally suppress Chinese companies," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian on Thursday. "What the US has said is a lie of the century and a smear and slander against China."
"The US should take China's concerns seriously and stop its bullying practices that use various excuses to sanction and suppress Chinese companies and harm China's interests. The Chinese government will firmly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies," he added.