US set to impose Hikvision sanctions

The United States is moving towards imposing sanctions on Chinese video surveillance company Hikvision, the Financial Times reported yesterday, citing four people familiar with the talks.

The Biden administration is considering placing human rights-related sanctions on the Chinese company, according to the report.

Washington has already begun briefing allies, given Hikvision has customers in more than 180 countries, two of the sources told the FT.

Hikvision said the company has been and will continue to comply with the applicable laws and regulations in the countries where it operates. "The mentioned potential action by the US government remains to be verified. We think any such sanction should be based on credible evidence and due process, and look forward to being treated fairly and unbiasedly," the company said in an emailed reply to Reuters.

The Federal Communications Commission in March 2021 had designated five Chinese firms, including Hikvision, as posing a threat to national security under a 2019 law aimed at protecting US communications networks.

China's Huawei Technologies, ZTE (0763), Hytera Communications, and Zhejiang Dahua Technology were the others on the list.